VCCircle

Here is the final list of bidders (stage one) for the 26 per cent stake in India's state-owned financial institution, according to communication sent to the stock exchanges this morning. These companies have submitted their expressions of interest on September 14, the last date for submitting the bids.

1. General Electric Capital Corporation
2. Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd
3. Consortium of Sterlite Industries (India) Ltd and Morgan Stanley & Co.
4. Infrastructure Development Finance Company Ltd
5. Newbridge Asia IV, L.P.
6. Consortium of WL Ross & Co. LLC, GS Capital Partners VI Fund, Standard Chartered Bank & Housing Development Finance Corporation Ltd
7. Cargill Financial Services Corporation
8. Consortium of Shinsei Bank Ltd, Punjab National Bank and J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC
9. Natixis
10. The Blackstone Group L.P.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports that IFCI Chairman N. Balasubramanian resigned from the board citing conflict of interest as he was advising Standard Chartered, which is part of a consortium bidding for the IFCI stake. It's strange why he hung around till now when he knew that Stanchart is one of the bidders.

What next
IFCI stake sale is done in a two-stage process. Another shortlist from the 10 bidders who submitted EoIs will be announced by September 25. Following this, the company would hold a pre-bid conference, after which the shortlisted companies would be asked to undertake due diligence and submit bids indicating the price they would be willing to pay. Request For Proposal (RFP) would be floated by October 1. The pre-qualified investors will need to submit sealed financial bids by November end. Based on the technical and financial bids, the board will finalise the name of strategic partners. The final winner will be announced by end January 2008.
“Having a strategic fit with the investor will be very important. We have prescribed minimum stipulations, it is now important to consider other parameters considering that all those who have submitted EoIs are serious players,” Atul Rai, CEO, IFCI told media. E&Y and another soon-to-be appointed due diligence advisor will handle the stake sale.
According to the current market cap, a 26 per cent stake in IFCI would be valued at some $320 million.