Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs clears sale of 60.72% IDBI Bank stake to Canada's Fairfax for ₹52,878 crore

Key facts

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the sale of a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank to Canada-based Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd for ₹52,878 crore, set to be the largest FDI in India's financial sector.
• The government will sell 30.48% and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) will divest 30.24%, leaving the government with 15% and LIC with 19% residual stakes.
• The CCEA delegated powers to the Alternative Mechanism, an empowered group of ministers headed by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, to sell the government's residual 15% stake through the open market.
• The winning bid was ₹81 per share, above the average independent valuation of ₹75.99 per share, while the initial FY26 bids fell short of the reserve price of ₹94.42 per share and were rejected.
• The successful bidder must present its credentials to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and submit a roadmap for complying with regulatory conditions before the transaction is completed.