IDBI Bank on Monday said it cannot confirm or deny media reports suggesting the government may scrap the proposed majority stake sale in the lender, stating that the strategic disinvestment process is confidential and being handled by the government.
The clarification came in response to a query from BSE seeking comments on a media reports that the government may scrap the majority stake sale due to low price bids.
In a filing to the exchange, the bank said, “The proposed Strategic Disinvestment of IDBI Bank Limited is a confidential process being undertaken by the Government of India (GOI) and, hence, IDBI Bank is not in a position to either confirm or deny the referenced news report.”
Responding to queries on whether negotiations were taking place, the lender said the disinvestment is being conducted through a competitive bidding process in line with the government’s disinvestment guidelines.
“Such bidding processes do not entail negotiations and accordingly, IDBI Bank has had no role to play in the negotiations,” the bank said.
The bank also said it had already kept stock exchanges informed about key developments in the proposed strategic sale.
IDBI Bank said it has not received any communication from the government regarding the scrapping of the strategic disinvestment process.
“Bank has not received any communication from GOI with respect to scrapping of the said process of Strategic Disinvestment of the Bank and, hence, we are not aware of any information leading to the referenced news report,” it said.
The lender added that the report relates to the bidding process for the proposed strategic disinvestment and does not involve any regulatory or legal proceedings.
The bank also reiterated that it has been promptly informing stock exchanges of all material developments and price-sensitive information in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements regulations.
Source: Economic Times