IDBI Bank sale: Finance Ministry says reserve price was never changed

The Finance Ministry has said the reserve price in the sale of IDBI Bank was "neither decreased, nor increased", in a detailed clarification on how the strategic sale has been run.

The note, issued on 29 October, explains why a second "best offer" round was held after the first bids were not approved, and how the bank was valued.

Why a second round

The first bid round was held in 2025-26 by DIPAM under its internal practices, which the ministry calls "indicative guidelines and not hidebound rules". The tender document already allowed the government to "decide the further course of action" if the highest bid came in below the reserve price.

The ministry says the Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment (CGD) has had powers since an August 2017 Cabinet Committee decision to settle procedural issues and allow deviations. Using these powers, the CGD itself set the procedure for the best-offer round. The first round, it says, ended once the initial bids were not approved.

How the bank was valued

• The CGD reviewed the valuation method in April 2026. Because the 31 March 2026 accounts were made public at the end of April, the valuers began fresh work in May.
• Two advisers valued the bank independently, using different methods. The ministry calls the process "double blind": bidders did not know the valuation, and valuers did not see the bids. Only the CGD sees both.
• With no comparable transactions available, the valuers compared IDBI with listed public sector banks. The ministry notes that IDBI became a government "controlled" bank after LIC took a majority stake in 2019, and that markets still value it like a public sector bank.

The tax indemnity

Disputed tax demands were indemnified, which the ministry says was a common demand of the qualified bidders. The potential liability is ₹627 crore, it says, while the price discovered in the bids rose by ₹3,917 crore.

What next

The government and LIC will keep residual stakes in the bank. The note does not name the bidder or the final price.

---

Source: official release by the Ministry of Finance, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (29 OCT 2026 9:54PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Clarification on the Process of Strategic Restructuring of the IDBI Bank Ltd..