India approves $5.56bn sale of controlling IDBI Bank stake to Fairfax

India has approved a Fairfax Financial subsidiary as the strategic buyer of a 60.72% controlling stake in IDBI Bank, valuing the transaction at 528.78 billion rupees, or about $5.56 billion. The government and state-owned Life Insurance Corporation will each sell roughly 30% of the lender, according to India’s finance ministry.

Fairfax will pay 81 rupees a share through its Canadian subsidiary 10955230 Canada Inc. The government and LIC are expected to retain a combined 34% stake after the sale. Completion remains subject to regulatory approvals, including from the Reserve Bank of India, so the announcement is an approved transaction rather than a finished transfer.

The sale is India’s largest cross-border banking deal and a significant test of its long-running bank privatisation programme. IDBI has more than 2,000 branches and reported assets of about 4.44 trillion rupees. Its gross bad-loan ratio has fallen to 2.3% from about 32% in 2018, when LIC took control during a restructuring.

Google Trends recorded more than 5,000 searches in India for “IDBI Bank sale” in the preceding four hours, up over 1,000%. That regional surge indicates interest, not evidence; the price, stake and buyer come from the official transaction announcement and independent reporting.