Government to divest up to 6% stake in Bank of Maharashtra, aims to garner ₹2,600 crore
The government will divest up to a 6% stake in Bank of Maharashtra to comply with public shareholding regulations. At the end of the September quarter, the government held a 79.6% stake in the bank, valued at ₹35,29,543 crore.
State-owned lender Bank of Maharashtra is likely to see a stake dilution as the government plans to divest up to a 6% stake through an offer for sale starting Tuesday, 2 December.
“Offer for sale in the Bank of Maharashtra (BOM) opens tomorrow for non-retail investors. Retail investors can bid on Wednesday. Government offers to disinvest 5% equity in the bank with an additional 1% as a green shoe option,” Arunish Chawla, secretary of the department of investment and public asset management (DIPAM), said in a post on social platform X on Monday.
At the end of the September quarter, the government held a 79.6% stake in the bank, valued at ₹35,29,543 crore. Based on the current market price of ₹57.65, the government could garner about ₹2,600 crore by offloading up to a 6% stake in the bank.
With the stake dilution, the bank would be able to meet the minimum public shareholding norm of 25%, as the government stake will come down below 75% from the current, according to shareholding data from the BSE website.
This is in line with the Securities Contract (Regulation) Rules issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, which mandate that all listed companies, including those in the public sector, must have a minimum public shareholding of 25%.
Capital market regulator Sebi has given forbearance to CPSEs and public sector financial institutions till August 2026.
The other four lenders where the government's stake is more than the minimum public shareholding threshold are Indian Overseas Bank at 94.6%, Punjab & Sind Bank at 93.9%, UCO Bank at 91%, and Central Bank of India at 89.3%.
Bank of Maharashtra Q2 2025 results
For the September-ending quarter (Q2FY26), the bank reported a 23% growth in its standalone net profit to ₹1,633 crore, driven by a decline in bad loans and a rise in interest income.
The state-owned bank earned interest income of ₹7,128 crore during the quarter, compared to ₹6,017 crore in the same period a year ago. Overall, its total income increased to ₹7,973.61 crore in the quarter under review from ₹6,809.2 crore in the three months ended September 30, 2024.
On the asset quality front, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) fell to 1.72% of gross loans by the end of September 2025, from 1.84% a year ago. Likewise, net NPAs, or bad loans, came down to 0.18%, from 0.2% at the end of the second quarter of the previous fiscal year.
(With inputs from PTI)
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