IDBI Bank Stake Sale To Fairfax Stuck In Late-Stage Valuation Dispute

The government’s long-running effort to sell its majority stake in IDBI Bank remains in late-stage negotiation, with Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings as the frontrunner, though a valuation dispute has kept the deal from closing.

The stake on the block is 60.72%, jointly held by the Government of India (30.48%) and LIC (30.24%), with Fairfax reportedly offering around ₹81 per share — valuing the deal at roughly ₹53,000 crore. If completed, it would rank among the largest foreign investments in an Indian bank. The proposal has reportedly cleared a committee of senior bureaucrats and is awaiting a ministerial panel’s view, alongside required approvals from the RBI and SEBI.

Fairfax’s existing stake in CSB Bank adds a complication, since the acquirer would likely need either to merge the two banks or exit its CSB holding first. With price and structural issues still unresolved, a final announcement has yet to materialise despite the deal being described as “final stage” for several months now.