“The valuation being demanded was very, very high.” Chief Executive Officer Ashok Vaswani said at a media briefing. “It would have been difficult to swallow,” he added, signaling concerns around pricing.
Kotak Mahindra Bank had shown a so-called expression of interest in IDBI Bank and received a fit-and-proper criteria by India’s central bank, but did not submit a bid.
India’s plan to privatize IDBI Bank remains on track, with all options under consideration, a finance ministry official said on Friday, asking not to be identified. The official cited good performance across profitability and other metrics, suggesting the government may be unwilling to lower its valuation expectations.
The sale process has faced delays after initial bids fell short of the reserve price, highlighting a mismatch between buyer expectations and the state’s asking price.
IDBI Bank, backed by Life Insurance Corp. of India, reported quarterly earnings that missed estimates on Thursday, adding another layer of uncertainty to the timing and pricing of the divestment.
