KOLKATA: State Bank of India is believed to be in the final stages of divesting part of its stake in its life insurance subsidiary.
SBI Life Insurance Managing Director Arjit Basu said that there is a bright possibility of the exercise getting over by December. “There is an outside chance that it happens in the third quarter. If not, it will certainly be over by the end of this fiscal,” Basu told ET on Friday in Kolkata. “Global investors always show interest whenever SBI wants to sell something,” he said
SBI said it would sell up to 5% of its stake and is in talks with global sovereign wealth funds and strategic investors. Basu said that the stake would be sold to non-promoters.
SBI Life is a 74:26 joint venture between State Bank of India and BNP Paribas Cardiff. SBI has also offered to sell 10% stake to Cardiff.
There have also been talks of SBI Life making an initial public offer next fiscal. But
Basu played it down. “It is not being considered this financial year and the earliest it will be considered is in the next financial year,” he said.
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Source: Economic Times
