IDBI Bank stake sale: ‘Very, very remote’ chance of finding another buyer at ₹52,000 crore, says DIPAM Secretary Chawla
Mint · Garvit Bhirani ·
After weighing cancellation, accepting the existing offer and seeking revised bids, the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment chose to invite improved offers for IDBI Bank to maximise the transaction value, DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla said.
The government opted to continue with the IDBI Bank disinvestment exercise by giving bidders another opportunity to improve their offers, rather than abandoning the existing process, DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla said. He clarified that the reserve price remained unchanged throughout the exercise.
During a conversation with CNBC-TV18, Chawla described the chances of attracting a fresh buyer prepared to pay ₹52,000 crore for the combined government and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) stakes as “very, very remote”.
He stated the authorities weighed three alternatives — cancelling the initial bidding exercise, accepting the offer already received, and inviting improved bids — before the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) settled on seeking revised or best offers to maximise the transaction value.