Canadian firm Fairfax Financial Holdings’ proposed $5.5 billion takeover of IDBI Bank is facing pushback from the state-owned lender’s employees and Indian political parties. A nationwide forum of IDBI officers and employees called for a two-day strike, demanded the government cancel the privatisation, and voiced grave concerns about the transparency of the sale and valuation process. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said the sale of over 60% of the bank goes against earlier governments’ commitment to hold 51%. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the bank, handed over in poor shape, was revived through recapitalization of more than 250 billion rupees ($2.6 billion). Fairfax bid 81 rupees per share against an average fair value of 75.99 rupees, and the Finance Ministry defended the process as a “double blind” bidding exercise.
Summary written by Upside AI from the original article. Read the source for full details.
Keywords
mergers and acquisitionsbanksIndiaCanada
Open a keyword to see other news on the same topic.
Related news
- Fairfax wins nod to acquire IDBI Bank , but faces challenge of shifting its public - sector culture
Fairfax Financial Holdings has cleared the government's hurdle to acquire IDBI Bank, but its bigger challenge lies inside the lender, where unions have pushed back and the culture remains close to a state-run entity. The United Forum of IDBI Officers & Employees “strongly opposes” the sale of a controlling stake to a “foreign entity,” while the government has assured employees their service interests will be protected. Analysts say moving a large unionised workforce to private-sector ways of working will be the hardest part. The Centre is selling a 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank to Fairfax, which holds 40% of CSB Bank; since RBI rules bar owning two banks, Fairfax must either sell that stake or merge CSB into IDBI Bank. IDBI Bank accounts for 1.2% of the banking system's loans and deposits, versus 0.2% for CSB Bank.
- IDBI Bank 60.72% stake sale to Canada Fairfax: Should FD holders and savings account customers worry? Experts decode
The sale of a combined 60.72% stake in IDBI Bank, held by the Government of India and LIC, to M/s 10955230 Canada Inc., whose parent is Fairfax Financial Holdings, awaits completion after the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the strategic disinvestment. IDBI Bank's Q1 FY27 presentation for the quarter ended June 2026 showed total deposits of ₹3,25,757 crore, up 10% year-on-year. Experts say there is no immediate reason for depositors to worry: repayment obligations do not change, RBI oversight continues, and deposits are insured by DICGC up to ₹5 lakh per depositor per bank. Existing FDs keep their contracted rates, while rates on new deposits and savings account terms, such as minimum balances and charges, are more likely to change. Experts advise against withdrawing or closing FDs because of the sale and recommend watching official updates; reports indicate retrenchment of the roughly 16,000 employees is restricted for at least one year after new management takes control.
- India’s IDBI Bank falls 7% as government announces $5.5 billion stake sale to Canada's Fairfax
Shares of IDBI Bank fell more than 7% on Thursday after India's government announced it would sell a 60.7% stake in the state-owned lender to Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings for over 529 billion rupees ($5.5 billion). Once final approvals are obtained, the Ministry of Finance said the deal will be the largest foreign direct investment in India's financial sector. Fairfax's winning bid of 81 rupees per share was above the government's average fair value of 75.99 rupees, but below IDBI's closing price of 90.39 rupees on Wednesday. Fairfax must pass a 'fit and proper' assessment by the Reserve Bank of India. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government will keep a minority stake, and the sale follows other share sales this year, including a $3.3 billion sale of a 6.5% stake in LIC in August.
- Tilray Just Posted Record Quarterly Revenue of $257 Million. So Why Did Its Cannabis Sales Shrink?
Tilray Brands (TLRY) reported record first-quarter fiscal 2027 revenue of $257.1 million, up 23%, and gross profit of $77.5 million, up 35%. Net cannabis revenue, however, fell 13% to $56.1 million from $64.5 million, mainly due to weaker sales in Canada. Beverage revenue rose 82% to $101.5 million, largely from the BrewDog acquisition, and now accounts for about 39% of total revenue. Tilray posted a net loss of about $40 million, adjusted EBITDA slipped from $10.2 million to $9.2 million, and free cash flow was negative $27.4 million. The company reduced debt by $42 million during the fiscal year and reaffirmed its fiscal 2027 adjusted EBITDA guidance of $68 million to $75 million.
- PODCAST : Ottawa threatens Stelco sale as Canadian businesses shift away from U . S .
- Bandhan Fin to explore health insurance foray post stabilisation of recent acquisitions : Chairman Ghosh
Bandhan Financial Services (BFSL) will explore health insurance opportunities once its recent acquisitions of IDFC Mutual Fund, IDFC Asset Management Company and Aegon Life Insurance stabilise, chairman Chandra Sekhar Ghosh told PTI. He said the immediate focus is consolidating existing businesses and did not give a timeline for entering health insurance. Ghosh said a composite licence would make it easier to enter the sector, which current Indian insurance law does not permit. The group is also looking at investment banking and wealth management, where it has no presence.
Related markets
Latest news
- US Plans Unexpected Economic Boost for Russia: Europe Immediately Objects
The US is pushing to quickly restart the sale of Russian gas to Europe through the pipeline crossing Ukraine, possibly via a US intermediary, with the proceeds placed in an escrow account in a third country so Moscow cannot use them to fund the war. Washington sees this as a lever to persuade President Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire on energy infrastructure, and Kyiv could earn significant transit fees. However, the EU must fully end Russian gas purchases by the end of 2027, and many European leaders have said they do not want to depend on Moscow again. Before the war Russia supplied about 45% of Europe's gas, now only about 11%, while US LNG covers about 30% of demand; the Iran conflict has pushed Europe's energy spending up by about 100 billion euros (112 billion USD), and storage is about 75% full. Moscow has not yet accepted the US-backed energy-strike ceasefire effort.
- Is Australia selling its ANZAC frigate shipyard to China?
The Williamstown shipyard, the last in Victoria able to build and maintain large naval vessels and located near Port of Melbourne, is being sold to EMKC, a property fund manager partly owned by Hong Kong's EMKC Group. A company representative confirmed the purchase contract has been signed, with the value undisclosed, though the site had been listed in 2024 at an estimated AUD 200 million. The deal has raised national security concerns, as the article notes that China's national security and foreign relations law could draw interest from its intelligence agencies, and it is unclear whether the Hong Kong company holds a majority stake. The yard built all 10 ANZAC-class frigates, but most staff were laid off after its last ship was completed in 2016. The sale comes as Australia replaces ANZAC frigates with Japan's New FFM design.
- Asia stocks rise as tech gains ahead of Apple results
Most Asian stocks rose on Monday, led by technology shares, as easing oil prices supported risk appetite while investors awaited Apple's quarterly results amid concerns over heavy AI infrastructure spending. South Korea's KOSPI jumped 2.6%, with SK Hynix up 4% and Samsung Electronics up 1.5%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 pared early losses to gain 0.4%. Intel's nearly 29% plunge on Friday after a disappointing profit outlook had raised concerns about semiconductor and other AI-related earnings. Brent crude fell 2% to $111.15 a barrel and U.S. crude dropped 2.3% to $101.73 as diplomatic efforts to end the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran continued. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 bucked the trend with a 0.5% fall ahead of a Reserve Bank of Australia decision on Tuesday, where a 25 basis point hike to 4.85% is widely expected, its fifth increase this year, after inflation accelerated to 4.3% in September.
- Can SpaceX Overcome the AI Trade Sell-Off?
AI stocks have sold off as investors demand proof that huge AI infrastructure spending will pay off, with results so far mixed. SpaceX's AI sales surged 830% to $7.6 billion in the third quarter, accounting for 52% of total revenue, but capex jumped 185% to $19.6 billion, with 83% allocated to AI. Its Starlink business grew 69% to $5.2 billion, and the company expects capex of up to $40 billion this year. The stock is down about 5% from its $150 opening price and remains below its IPO price, while Alphabet fell about 10% after capex of $51.3 billion and missed sales and earnings estimates. The author considers that investor skepticism about capex could weigh on SpaceX's shares for a while.
- Market Pulse 02/11: Banks Plunge Sharply, VIC and VHM Slow VN-Index's Fall
VN-Index traded around 1,727.06 points, down over 12 points from the reference and 3.17 points from the 9:30 level, as breadth on HOSE tilted sharply toward declines with 241 decliners versus 48 advancers. Matched liquidity reached about 3,871 billion VND, roughly four times the level at 9:30. Banks led liquidity with over 1,266 billion VND as prices fell broadly, with VCB, TCB and ACB down between 2.13% and 3.10%. Investors were cautious about the risk of narrowing banks' net interest margins (NIM), while the real estate group drew about 655 billion VND, with VIC and VHM rising modestly and helping cushion the index. Foreign investors net sold over 326 billion VND, up from over 63 billion VND at 9:30, with selling concentrated in ACB, FPT, VPB and VCB.
- Gold and silver prices today, November 2: Phu Quy, SJC, Bao Tin Manh Hai all update new prices
Domestic gold and silver prices edged up on the morning of November 2, 2026, after a steep decline at the end of October. SJC gold bars at Phu Quy, SJC and Bao Tin Manh Hai were quoted at 135.5–137 million VND per tael to buy and 140 million VND to sell, with Bao Tin Manh Hai's SJC price up 0.1 million VND from the previous session. The SJC sell price is still 4.8 million VND below the October peak of 144.8 million VND. Internationally, spot gold rose to 3,907.35 USD per ounce, and the article cites safe-haven demand and bottom-fishing buying as support near 3,900 USD per ounce. Phu Quy 999 silver bars (1 tael) were quoted at 1.587 million VND to buy and 1.636 million VND to sell.
Get the briefing on Telegram or Zalo
Join the Upside Telegram channel or Zalo group for the Vietnam stocks and gold briefing at 8:00 and 19:00 (Vietnam time) on trading days, plus a weekly wrap on Saturday morning.