IDBI Bank may be sold by December, others by fiscal end

The government is likely to focus on privatizing IDBI Bank by December and defer plans to sell other state-run firms to the last quarter of the fiscal year, two people aware of the matter said.

- Rhik Kundu & Subhash Narayan

The move aims to avoid market crowding and ensure sufficient investor appetite, they said.

The IDBI Bank sale is expected to fetch about ₹50,000 crore for the central government and Life Insurance Corp. of India, which together hold over 94% in the bank, the people said on the condition of anonymity.

The two stakeholders plan to sell a total of 60.72% stake in the lender.

The June quarter has seen no major stake sale and the September quarter may remain subdued as well, the first person said.

"While the stake sale in IDBI Bank is likely to fetch about ₹50,000 crore, another ₹10,000-15,000 crore could come from offers for sale of equity in other listed public sector undertakings," the person added.