IDBI Bank: Government & LIC disinvest 60.72% shares for Rs.52,828 crore to Canada Inc., a subsidiary of Fairfax

Fairfax will acquire the government and LIC’s combined 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank for Rs.52,877.07 crore, subject to regulatory approvals

Team PGurus

October 14, 2026

Fairfax will acquire the government and LIC’s combined 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank for Rs.52,877.07 crore, subject to regulatory approvals

IDBI Bank gets new owner: Fairfax secures controlling stake

Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the sale of a 60.72 percent stake in IDBI Bank to Fairfax Financial Holdings for Rs.52,878 crore, in the country’s biggest strategic disinvestment since the sale of Air India and potentially opening a new chapter in the privatisation of state-controlled banks. “Once completed, this will be the largest FDI in the financial sector of our economy so far,” the Government of India said in a statement.

The government and LIC will together hold a 34 percent stake in the restructured entity. The proposed sale of a combined 60.72 percent stake held by the government and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) would transfer control of the lender to Fairfax, subject to the completion of the transaction and requisite regulatory approvals.

“The CCEA …approved M/s 10955230 Canada Inc (parent entity M/s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd) as the strategic buyer for this transaction for a purchase consideration of Rs.52,877.07 crore for the acquisition of 60.72 percent stake in IDBI Bank, comprising 30.48 percent equity held by the GoI and 30.24 percent by the LIC,” the statement said. Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Arunish Chawla said the deal will be completed before the end of the current fiscal year.

Fairfax will have to also make an open offer to the minority shareholders. Fairfax, which holds a stake in CSB Bank Limited (formerly known as Catholic Syrian Bank), will have to either merge it with IDBI Bank or exit the holding within 2 years. Indian origin Candian citizen Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Group has a 40% shareholding in CSB Bank Ltd.

Vivian Prem Watsa [76] was born in Hyderabad and graduated with a degree in chemical engineering. He is a distinguished alumnus of IIT Madras.

For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.

Author
Recent Posts

Team PGurus

We are a team of focused individuals with expertise in at least one of the following fields viz. Journalism, Technology, Economics, Politics, Sports & Business. We are factual, accurate and unbiased.