Kotak Mahindra Bank says it has not submitted financial bid for IDBI Bank

Kotak Mahindra Bank on Saturday said it has not submitted a financial bid as part of the ongoing disinvestment process for IDBI Bank Ltd.

“We observed material price movement in the Bank’s scrip on February 6, 2026, and therefore would like to clarify that the Bank has not submitted a financial bid as part of the disinvestment process relating to IDBI Bank Limited,” the lender said in an exchange filing.

According to an ET report dated February 6, Prema Watsa’s Fairfax Financial and Kotak Mahindra Bank were said to have submitted financial bids for a majority stake in IDBI Bank. ET has also learnt that Emirates NBD did not submit any bid. All three entities had earlier submitted expressions of interest (EoIs).


On Friday, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said in a post on X that financial bids have been received for the strategic disinvestment of IDBI Bank and will be evaluated in accordance with the prescribed procedure.

The contenders are vying to acquire the 60.72% stake being offered by the government and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Together, the Centre and LIC own over 90% of IDBI Bank.

IDBI Bank’s disinvestment process was formally launched in October 2022 but has since faced delays as the Government of India undertook several measures to remove hurdles for potential buyers.

The successful bidder will have to go through a final assessment by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to ensure that it meets the banking regulator's 'fit & proper' standards. In addition, approvals will be needed from statutory and regulatory authorities, including the Competition Commission of India. The successful bidder will also have to comply with the requirement to make an open offer to minority shareholders of IDBI Bank.