ICICI Bank to sell 7% in NCDEX for Rs 507/share

Ending more than a month's speculation, ICICI Bank has fixed the price of its equity stake at Rs 507 a share to sell its 7 per cent holding in National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), valued Rs 106.40 crore, to Goldman Sachs (Mauritius).

With this sell-off, ICICI Bank's stake in the exchange will come down to 8 per cent, thus leaving Life Insurance Corporation of India, National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and National Stock Exchange of India as the largest stakeholders with 15 per cent each. NCDEX's total equity is valued at Rs 1,520 crore.

Goldman Sachs, the world leading investment banking, securities and investment management company, has evinced keen interest in the Indian commodities market because of the huge potential the latter offers.

International security houses have also shown interest in the domestic commodities market with some participating directly by acquiring stakes in the country's bourses and others trading indirectly by setting up shops.

This was the second such sale after Financial Technologies India had sold its 9 per cent stake in Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) to Fidelity International at over Rs 650 a share early this year.

The deal fetched Rs 220 crore ($49 million) to the exchange. FTIL still holds a majority stake in MCX.