India Cabinet approves Fairfax purchase of IDBI Bank stake

India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved Fairfax Financial Holdings as the strategic buyer for a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank, in a proposed transaction valued at ₹52,878 crore. The sale would transfer control of the lender to Fairfax, but it is not complete and remains subject to regulatory approvals and transaction agreements. The stake comprises 30.48% held by the government and 30.24% held by Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). After the proposed sale, the government would retain 15% of IDBI Bank and LIC 19%, for a combined 34% holding. The government and LIC would receive proceeds from their respective share sales, according to the Finance Ministry statement announcing the approval. The approved consideration works out to ₹81 per share, according to officials. The government described the transaction, if completed, as the largest foreign direct investment in India’s financial sector. It is also a further step in a sale process first announced in 2022, which faced regulatory and procedural delays. The Cabinet’s decision selects Fairfax as buyer but does not itself finalize the transfer.