State Bank of India (SBI), is looking to sell as much as 49% stake in its investment banking arm SBI Capital Markets Ltd (SBICaps), news agency Press Trust of India (PTI) reported, quoting chairman of the country's largest lender, Rajnish Kumar.
SBI plans to sell between 24% and 49% stake in SBICaps this year by bringing in an investment partner, PTI reported late on Tuesday.
SBI is also looking to sell stakes in other subsidiaries including SBI General Insurance and SBI Card over the next two years to unlock value, the report said.
The bank is in the process of merging the project advisory business of SBICaps with the bank to overcome duplication of work and to help SBICaps become a pure investment bank, the report said.
SBICaps did not respond to an email seeking comment. A spokesperson of SBI was not available for comment immediately.
SBICaps, a wholly owned unit of SBI, started operations in 1986 and is one of the largest domestic investment banks in the country despite stiff competition. Project advisory and structured financing business accounts for about 90% of its revenue.
The company plans to change its revenue mix and focus on becoming more aggressive in its core investment banking business, chief executive Varsha Purandare told VCCircle in an interview last month.
The company offers investment banking, project finance, initial public offering, merchant banking, mergers and acquisition advisory and debt restructuring services.
