Bank of Maharashtra OFS opens: Govt to offload up to 6% stake for ₹2,600 crore; every detail you need to know

At the current market price, the government would be able to garner about ₹2,600 crore by offloading up to a 6% stake in the bank.

The stock in the early session was trading at ₹57.15, down 0.87%.

"Offer for Sale in Bank of Maharashtra (BOM) opens tomorrow for non-retail investors. Retail investors can bid on Wednesday. The government offers to disinvest 5% equity in the bank with an additional 1% as a green shoe option," Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Arunish Chawla said in a post on X.

The government currently holds a 79.60% stake in the Pune-based 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%.

This is in line with the Securities Contract (Regulation) Rules issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), 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%.

What is the 75% public shareholding norm?

In India, the minimum public shareholding (MPS) rule requires all listed companies to ensure that at least 25% of their shares are held by the public. This effectively means that the maximum a promoter or promoter group can hold is 75%.

So, when people refer to the “75% public shareholding norm”, they are actually referring to this MPS requirement. If promoters hold more than 75% in a listed company, they must reduce their stake to 75% or below to ensure at least 25% public ownership.

This rule promotes fair pricing, sufficient market liquidity, and improved corporate governance by preventing excessive concentration of ownership among promoters.

Bank of Maharashtra Q2 FY26 Results

Public sector lender Bank of Maharashtra reported a 23% growth in its standalone net profit to ₹1,633 crore in the September quarter of the current fiscal (Q2 FY26), driven by a decline in bad loans and a rise in interest income.

The bank had posted a net profit of ₹1,327 crore in the same quarter of the preceding fiscal year (FY25).

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, Bank of Maharashtra said in a regulatory filing.

Overall, its total income increased to ₹7,973.61 crore in the quarter under review from ₹6,809.2 crore logged in the three months ended September 30, 2024.

The bank was able to reduce gross non-performing assets (NPAs) to 1.72% of the 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.