According to sources, Natixis has withdrawn and Blackstone as well may withdraw from IFCI stake sale.
The bidders still in the fray are – GE Capital, Sterlite and MS, IDFC, WL Ross Consortium, Cargill, Shinsei and PNB. Earlier Kotak Mahindra Bank and Newbridge had dropped out.
According to sources, Natixis, which is a French bank, has definitely pulled out. They had earlier expressed interest. Blackstone is also likely to withdraw in the next few days, analysts said. It is likely to signal its intention to the IFCI management that it wants to withdraw from the race, they added.
Kotak Mahindra Bank and Newbridge have already withdrawn earlier, analysts said. This means that out of the 10 players who had initially expressed interest in IFCI, four have withdrawn and six players remain. There are a few big players however who remain in the race. These include General Electric Capital Corporation; Consortium of Sterlite Industries (India) and Morgan Stanley & Co; Infrastructure Development Finance Company; Consortium of WL Ross & Co, GS Capital Partners VI Fund, Standard Chartered Bank, and Housing Development Finance Corporation; Cargill Financial Services Corporation; and Consortium of Shinsei Bank, Punjab National Bank, and J C Flowers & Co.
The four players who had were mostly uncomfortable with valuations, analysts said. The valuations and stock price of IFCI have more than doubled in the last few months. It has been on fire over the last few months and that means the 26% stake today would be worth almost half a billion dollars at current market valuations. Most bidders said at Rs 85-90, IFCI does not look a good bet. The fair value of IFCI they say is between Rs 65 and Rs 70. So, do not be surprised if more bidders pullout in the next few weeks, analysts added.
Source: Money Control