State Bank of India (SBI), the nation?s biggest financial services company, said that it may sell as much as a 10% stake in a new unit.
The bank may sell stake in the unit, which will own the group’s insurance and money managing business, to as many as four investors, OP Bhatt, chairman of State Bank of India told reporters in Mumbai. Earlier, Bhatt had said that SBI expects a valuation of $5-7 billion for its proposed holding company that will hold the bank’s stake in insurance company SBI Life and asset management company SBI Funds Management.
Bhatt said the holding company will be formed within the next three months. SBI is exploring the legal issues. He said that the holding company will be formed within the next two to three months.
?We are currently studying all the legal issues about the transfer of stake and formation of the holding company,? he said.
?We have been receiving feedbacks from various merchant bankers, and based on those estimates and our own valuation, we expect the holding company to fetch a valuation of anything between $5-7 billion,? said Bhatt. The formation of the holding company could be followed by placement to strategic investors, and finally it?s listing.