New Delhi: The government on Wednesday extended the deadline to submit preliminary bids for the IDBI Bank privatisation till January 7. The government and LIC together are looking to sell 60.72 percent of IDBI Bank and had invited bids from potential buyers in October. In a notice, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said that the last date for submission of EoI is January 7, 2023, instead of December 16. Also, the last date for submission of physical copies of the EoIs has been extended to January 14, from December 23.
The government and the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) hold 94.71 percent of IDBI Bank and are looking to offload 60.72 percent in the state-owned bank. The successful bidder will have to make an open offer of acquisition of 5.28 percent of the public shareholding.
Earlier, DIPAM had said that the potential buyers should have a minimum net worth of Rs 22,500 crore and must report a net profit in three out of the last five years to qualify to bid for the bank. In addition, a maximum of four members would be permitted in a consortium.
Also, the successful bidder would be required to mandatorily lock in at least 40 percent of the equity capital for five years from the date of acquisition.
"The government is also reaching out to SEBI for a two-year relaxation in complying with the public shareholding norms in the case of IDBI Bank. The relaxation is expected to make the strategic sale of the bank more attractive to a potential investor as there will be more time for complying with the norm," reported News18.
Shares of IDBI bank were trading at Rs 57.15 apiece, down by 1.64 percent over the previous close on the BSE.
(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Google News. Click here to follow. Also, join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram. You may also follow us on Twitter here and stay updated.)