Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 5 said that the strategic divestment process of IDBI Bank is moving fast and is expected to conclude by the ongoing financial year 2026.
During an interview with Network 18 Group Editor-In-Chief Rahul Joshi, the finance minister hinted that more such stake sales can happen in the future. "I am not negating anything. More disinvestments," she said.
Earlier in August, DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla said that qualified interested bidders for the stake sale of IDBI Bank have nearly completed the due diligence for the divestment, and the process is likely to be concluded by the next month.
"The EoI part of the process has been fully completed, the qualified parties have been through a provisional fit and proper assessment by the RBI. They are now doing the due diligence, and all details have been made available through the data room. We are in an advanced stage of completing the due diligence exercise and further steps, essentially the RFP stage, we hope to complete by the end of the financial year," Arunish Chawla told CNBC-TV18 during an interaction.
DIPAM said all necessary details relating to the divestment have been shared with the qualified bidders, and the technical document for the divestment is ready now. The stake sale process, which is likely to conclude this fiscal, includes divestment of LIC's stake in the lender.
The government and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) jointly own nearly 95 percent stake in IDBI Bank, of which 60.72 percent stake is earmarked for sale under the ongoing disinvestment programme.
Centre has already completed Rs 20,000 crore worth of divestment during Q1FY26 out of the targetted Rs 47,000 crore for the fiscal. The IDBI Bank stake sale, after multiple delays, is moving forward and is considered as key to government's broader divestment strategy.
IDBI Bank shares closed with marginal gains at Rs 88.90 apiece. The stock has gained nearly 3 percent in the past five days, but dropped 2 percent in the past one month. The shares of the PSU lender surged nearly 26 percent in the past six months. The stock's P/E ratio currently stands at around 12.
Also read: Our LIVE blog on FM Nirmala Sitharaman's interview
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