IDBI Bank stake sale: Financial bids received; evaluation underway, says FinMin

Financial bids for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank have been received and will now be evaluated in line with the prescribed procedure, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) under the Union Finance Ministry said on February 6. 

Confirming the development, DIPAM Secretary said in a post on X (formally twitter), “Financial Bids have been received for the Strategic Disinvestment of the IDBI Bank. They will be evaluated as per the prescribed procedure.” 

The Union government and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) together hold around 90 per cent stake in IDBI Bank. As part of the transaction, the government is divesting its 30.48 per cent stake, while LIC is offloading 30.24 per cent. Officials estimate the disinvestment could fetch about ₹33,000 crore for the exchequer. 

In a post-Budget interaction on February 1, DIPAM Secretary Arunish Chawla said the strategic sale of IDBI Bank had moved into the third phase, with both technical and financial bids invited. He added that further clarity on the transaction could emerge before the end of the current financial year. 

The proposal to disinvest IDBI Bank was first announced in the Union Budget for FY21 in February 2020. A formal request for proposal (RFP) was issued in October 2022, marking a key step in the privatisation process. 

According to reports, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cleared four interested bidders from a ‘fit and proper’ standpoint — Kotak Mahindra Bank, Fairfax India Holdings, Emirates NBD and Oaktree Capital. 

Any successful bidder will still require final approval from the RBI under its ‘fit and proper’ criteria, along with clearances from statutory and regulatory authorities including the Competition Commission of India (CCI). The winning bidder will also be required to make an open offer to IDBI Bank’s minority shareholders. 

To facilitate the transaction, the Centre and LIC have sought approvals to relinquish their promoter status. Additionally, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has been approached to exempt IDBI Bank from the minimum public shareholding norm, which mandates a 25 per cent free float for listed companies. 

The Union Budget has set a disinvestment and asset monetisation target of ₹80,000 crore for FY27, with the IDBI Bank transaction expected to be one of the key contributors.

IDBI Q3 results

IDBI Bank posted a marginal 1.4 per cent year-on-year rise in standalone net profit for the December quarter at ₹1,935 crore, compared with ₹1,908 crore in the corresponding period last year. However, profit after tax declined sharply by 47 per cent on a sequential basis from ₹3,627 crore reported in the September quarter of FY26. 

The bank’s interest income for the quarter fell 9 per cent year-on-year to ₹7,073.55 crore from ₹7,816 crore a year earlier, and was marginally lower by 0.4 per cent compared with ₹7,104 crore in Q2 FY26. 

Total business stood at ₹5,46,643 crore as of December 31, 2025, marking a 12 per cent increase year-on-year. 

Total deposits grew 9 per cent year-on-year to ₹3,07,858 crore, while net advances rose 15 per cent to ₹2,38,786 crore. The corporate-to-retail mix in the gross advances portfolio stood at 29:71 at the end of December 2025. 

Asset quality improved during the quarter, with gross non-performing assets declining by 100 basis points year-on-year to 2.57 per cent, while net NPA stood at 0.18 per cent. The provision coverage ratio was largely stable at 99.33 per cent as of December 31, 2025, compared with 99.47 per cent a year earlier. 

Shares of IDBI Bank ended the day at Rs 106.72 up 3.63% from its previous close.