State Bank of India (SBI), the country’s largest lender by assets, is preparing to sell shares worth up to Rs 25,000 crore ($2.9 billion) to institutional investors as early as next week, claimed a report Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The bank’s board had approved the share sale in May but the qualified institutional placement (QIP) have not been finalised and remain subject to change, reported Bloomberg.
If fully subscribed, the proposed QIP could become the largest such equity fundraising exercise in Indian history, surpassing the Rs 22,560 crore share sales by Coal India Ltd. in 2015.
SBI did not immediately respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.
The move marks the first time since 2017 that the government-owned lender is tapping the equity market.
The share sale is aimed at strengthening the bank’s capital base, boosting its lending capacity and ensuring compliance with regulatory norms.
According to a government source, Indian state-owned banks are expected to raise around Rs 45,000 crore through QIPs in the 2025-26 financial year.
For this transaction, SBI has engaged six investment banking firms.
These include Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc, ICICI Securities Ltd., Kotak Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley and SBI Capital Markets Ltd.