The US-based private equity fund Newbridge Capital has opted out of the race to acquire a strategic stake in the country's oldest financial institution IFCI. |
"We withdrew the bid given the changed circumstances," Newbridge spokesperson told PTI without giving further details. |
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It is believed that another contender, besides Newbridge, has opted out of the race which saw a total of 10 entities evincing interest in picking up stakes in IFCI. However, the name of the company could not be confirmed. Last month, 10 entities, including three consortia, had submitted expressions of interest for picking up stakes in the the financial institution. The entities included IDFC, Kotak Mahindra Bank, GE Capital, Cargill, the French banking company Natixis, US-based private equity fund manager Blackstone and Newbridge. |
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Three consortia, including one between W L Ross, Standard Chartered Bank, Goldman Sachs and HDFC, and another between Punjab National Bank with Shinsei Bank of Japan and US-based investor JC Flowers had been shortlisted for the next round of the stake sale process. Besides, Sterlite, in association with Morgan Stanley, has also reached the next stage of the bidding process. |
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As on March 31, 2007, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs had 2.5 per cent and 3.3 per cent stake, respectively, in IFCI. |
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The company is holding a pre-bid meeting tomorrow with the shortlisted bidders. |
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The meeting will be followed by request for proposal, which would be floated in the second week of this month, an IFCI official said. |
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The IFCI scrip ended with a gain of 1.41 per cent at Rs 100.55 yesterday. |
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