IDBI Capital Seeks Bids For 5% Stake Sale In National Stock Exchange

IDBI Capital Market Services Ltd. has invited bids for the sale of up to 5% equity shares of National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. on behalf of an unidentified client.

A client of the company intends to sell shares not exceeding 5% of the total equity capital of the National Stock Exchange of India, and applications are invited from interested parties, IDBI Capital said in an advertisement published Friday in newspaper Business Line.

The ad didn't specify the name of the client, but said IDBI Capital and the client reserve the right to withdraw from the sale plan at any stage of the process. It also said the NSE wasn't a party to the sale plan, but will have the right to approve or reject the deal.

NSE and IDBI Capital executives couldn't be reached for comment.

Privately held NSE was founded by some of India's top financial companies, including IDBI Bank Ltd. (500116.BY), IFCI Ltd. (500106.BY), State Bank of India (500112.BY) and ICICI Bank Ltd. (532174.BY), the company's website show.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and private-equity firms including General Atlantic LLC hold small stakes in NSE.

-By Ashutosh Joshi, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]