Ajay Piramal sets sights on PSBS to move into banking

Piramal eyes PSBs to move into banking

- Mihir Mishra & Shayan Ghosh

The Piramal Group, which owns a non-bank financier, is weighing acquisitions to enter the banking space and may look at public sector banks (PSBs) that the government puts on the block, group chairman Ajay Piramal said. "We’ll look at opportunities as and when they come. We’ll see," Piramal said in an interview.

Possible targets could be IDBI Bank Ltd and a couple of other state-run banks. "Well, IDBI has been going on for years. Nothing has happened. So, obviously, there’s no interest now. They want to change the terms. So, we’ll see. I can’t say anything categorical today. Let’s see what the opportunities are," he added.

Piramal did not participate in IDBI Bank’s divestment process, which was put on hold in November and is likely to restart only in the second half of next year. The government, which owns 45.48% of the bank, and Life Insurance Corp. of India, which holds 49.24%, together plan to sell 60.7% of the lender.