Mumbai: India’s largest lender, State Bank of India (
SBI), received bids from Prem Watsa’s
Fairfax,
EdelweissSecurities and
Kotak Securities among others to buy 1 per cent stake in National Stock Exchange (
NSE), three people aware of the development said.
At least 13 bidders have submitted bids to buy up to 50 lakh unlisted
shares of the bourse for a deal value ranging from Rs 460 crore to Rs 530 crore. Watsa’s Fairfax submitted a bid of Rs 500 crore to buy all the 50 lakh shares up for sale. Watsa did not respond to an email seeking his comments to the story. The bank has received demand for at least 2 crore shares with other investors submitting bids for a part of the shares up for sale.
“Some of the bidders include Edelweiss and Kotak Securities, which may further sell down those shares, if allotted,” said an official aware of the sale. Both institutions could not be contacted immediately for comments.
The bidding price is estimated to be in the range of Rs
960-1030 per share. The state-owned lender is said to be unwilling to sell the shares at a price lower than Rs 1,000 apiece, the person cited above said. National Stock Exchange, the third Indian bourse that would go public, has seen its market value rise 7% in the past six months with a valuation of Rs 50,000 crore in the grey market.