IFCI’s Board of Directors on Tuesday gave an in-principle approval for sale of 2.5 percent stake in National Stock Exchange (NSE), the country’s largest bourse.

The state-owned non-banking finance had a direct holding of about 5.5 percent in NSE.

“We are not going to sell this 2.5 percent stake tomorrow. We have only taken the in-principle approval of the Board so that other process like due diligence could be initiated”, Malay Mukherjee, CEO & Managing Director, IFCI told Business Line.

Mukherjee said that IFCI was yet to appoint any merchant banker for this stake sale and that the completion of the process could take some time.

“Since it would later be difficult to take this transaction separately to the Board for its approval, we decided to bring it today itself and take an in-principle approval of the Board.”

IFCI had initially held 12.44 percent stake in NSE. Of this12.44 stake, about 7 percent stake was sold in the year 2007 to Goldman Sachs Group Inc, NYSE Group Inc, General Atlantic LLC and Softbank Asian Infrastructure Fund.

Currently, IFCI directly holds about 5.5 percent stake in NSE. Stock Holding Corporation, now a subsidiary of IFCI, directly holds another 5 percent. “So in effect, both through direct and indirect route taken together IFCI controlled about 8.5 percent in NSE”, he added.

Banking Licence

Mukherjee said that IFCI, which had applied in the recent round for a banking licence, would not pursue for any form of banking licence in the current fiscal.

“Let the RBI come up with fresh guidelines and then we will study it. But we are not looking at applying for any banking licence for this fiscal atleast”

But IFCI is keen to bag a development finance institution tag and talks are on with the Government on this count, he added.

Currently, IFCI is a systemically important non-banking finance company registered with the Reserve Bank of India.

srivats.kr@thehindu.co.in

comment COMMENT NOW