Canada’s Fairfax to acquire 60.7% stake in IDBI Bank for $5.5 B: report

Canada-based Fairfax has reportedly finalized a deal to acquire a 60.7% stake in publicly listed, Mumbai-headquartered IDBI Bank . The transaction, which includes a secondary purchase from the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), is valued at USD 5.5 Billion. Fairfax has offered INR 81 per share to acquire the stake. The investment, which would mark the largest foreign capital infusion into an Indian bank to date, requires final assessments and approvals from various regulatory authorities, including the Reserve Bank of India and the Competition Commission of India.LIC had bought a 51% controlling stake in IDBI Bank in January 2019 and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) officially re-categorised the institution as a private sector lender for regulatory purposes.Fairfax, which currently maintains a 40% stake in CSB Bank, may be required to merge the two entities following the acquisition.