State-run State Bank of India (SBI) invites bids to sell its 1% stake in NSE

New Delhi: State-run State Bank of India (SBI) on Friday invited bids for selling its 1 percent stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE).

“SBI is one of the shareholders of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd (NSEIL) and intends to divest up to 1.0101 percent (50,00,000 equity shares) of its equity shareholding in the NSEIL through a competitive bidding process,” the country’s largest lender said in a public notice.

SBI said it is looking to sell 50 lakh shares representing 1.01 percent stake in the National Stock Exchange (NSE) as part of its capital raising exercise. Currently, SBI holds a 5.19 percent stake in the exchange.

The bid should be submitted for a minimum lot of 10,00,000 shares in the prescribed format and the last date for submission is January 15, 2020, it said.

In 2016, SBI sold a 5 per cent stake in the NSE to Mauritius-based Veracity Investments for Rs 911 crore, valuing the exchange at over Rs 18,200 crore. Post this transaction, SBI holding came down to 5.19 percent while its subsidiary, SBI Capital, holds 4.33 percent stake in the exchange.

Last month, IFCI sold its entire 2.44 percent stake in the NSE for a consideration of Rs 805.6 crore. Besides the NSE stake dilution, the bank is looking to raise funds from initial public offers of its subsidiaries UTI Mutual Fund and SBI Cards and Payment Services Ltd. The bank’s credit card arm SBI Cards on Wednesday filed a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) for its initial public offer (IPO) with market regulator Sebi in November.

The company will offer up to 13,05,26,798 equity shares via the offer for sale route. This will include up to 37,293,371 share sales by SBI and up to 93,233,427 shares on offer by Carlyle Group (CA Rover). In addition, the company will also issue fresh equity shares of Rs 500 crore. (IANS)

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