Analysis
The sale ends a privatization effort that began in 2022 and stalled in March, when bids fell short of the government's price. It would put a lender with more than 2,000 branches under foreign control, adding to a run of foreign investments in Indian banks and lenders over the past two years as credit demand there has stayed strong.
The deal
Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings will buy a majority stake in India's IDBI Bank, the Indian government said on October 14, 2026 [1]. The government and state-run Life Insurance Corporation of India are selling a combined 60.7% stake and will keep about 34% after the transaction, which they can later sell in the open market under the agreement [1][2].
Fairfax offered 81 rupees a share, above the 75.99-rupee benchmark price the government set from fair-value estimates [1]. Reuters put the deal at 528.78 billion rupees, or $5.56 billion; Dow Jones reported it as 520 billion rupees, about $5.43 billion [1][2]. IDBI shares closed at 90.44 rupees, up about 9% on the day; the announcement came after the market closed [1][2].
A long road to a sale
The Reserve Bank of India placed IDBI under its prompt corrective action framework in 2017 because of financial weakness and repeated capital needs, and lifted those restrictions in 2021 as the bank recovered, according to the government statement reported by Dow Jones [2]. The government invited bids for a majority stake in 2022 [2]. That process was shelved in March 2026 when bids fell short of the government's price and restarted after it lowered its expectations [1].
IDBI had total assets of 4.44 trillion rupees, about $46.66 billion, as of June 2026 and more than 2,000 branches [1]. Its gross bad-loan ratio was 2.3% in June, down from nearly 32% in September 2018 [1].
The buyer
Fairfax, founded in 1985 by chairman and chief executive Prem Watsa, is a global insurance and reinsurance holding company [2]. Fairfax already invests in India through a separate Toronto-listed investment company that Watsa founded in 2014, which had assets of $3.8 billion as of June 30, 2026 [1][2].
What remains uncertain
The sale needs Reserve Bank of India approval and has not closed. The dollar value depends on the exchange rate and the rupee figure used: Reuters and Dow Jones reported different totals. The government's own statement was read only as reported by these two news organizations.