The Reserve Bank of India has completed its review of potential buyers for a majority stake in IDBI Bank, approving Fairfax Financial Holdings, Emirates NBD and Kotak Mahindra Bank as bidders, three sources aware of the development said on Thursday.

The Indian government, which owns 45.48 per cent in IDBI Bank, and state-owned Life Insurance Corp of India which holds 49.24 per cent, together plan to sell 60.7 per cent of the lender. The sale process was first announced in 2022.

The sources did not wish to be identified as the discussions are not public. The finance ministry, RBI, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Emirates NBD and Kotak Mahindra Bank did not immediately reply to Reuters emails seeking comments.

The bidders are talking to the Indian government and will get access to IDBI Bank’s private data after evaluation, one of the sources said.

Reuters had earlier reported interested buyers include Emirates NBD and Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa.

Toronto-based Fairfax India Holdings is backed by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa and invests in public as well as private equity securities and debt instruments in India.

Emirates NBD Group offers financial services with operations in UAE, India and Saudi Arabia, among others.

The government would likely open bids for the lender before the end of the financial year, Tuhin Kanta Pandey, the country’s secretary responsible for the stake sale, had said last week.

The potential investors have received necessary security clearance from the home ministry last week, according to PTI.

In January 2023, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) said it received multiple expressions of interest (EoI) for buying a stake in IDBI Bank.

The bidders who have shown interest through EoI have to get two sets of clearances — one from the home ministry for security clearance and the other from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for meeting the ‘fit and proper’ criteria.