Divestment Strategy and Share Valuation: Case Study of a Public Sector Development Bank in India Available to Purchase

Development Banks (DBs) are specialized financial institutions created for the purpose of balanced industrialization. A development bank has to act more as a promotional agency than a mere financial institution. Therefore separate institutions have been set up, namely State Industrial Development Corporations (SIDCs) in almost all the states in India for undertaking promotional activities. With the growing role of Development Banking in India, the SIDCs are facing financial hardships as they are wholly dependent on Government grants. The paucity of funds for SIDCs has prompted them to opt for divestment of their shareholdings from the existing units to recycle the funds for increasing industrial promotion. Divestment decisions are concerned with the quantum and timing of divestment and the determination of share prices for this purpose. SIDCs are different in that their divestment decisions need not be primarily guided by economic factors (capital appreciation). Highlights the divestment policy and share evaluation models adopted by a development bank, namely Andhra Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation Ltd, which is basically responsible for transforming an agrarian Indian state (Andhra Pradesh), into a moderate industrial organization.