New Delhi, March 17 -- The government sought over Rs.70,000 crore for the 61% stake in IDBI Bank being sold jointly by it and the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), before scrapping the proposed share sale due to poor investor interest, two people aware of the matter told Mint.

The divestment was likely being sought at a price of around Rs.110 per share, which would value the lender at Rs.1.2 trillion, the first of the two persons cited above said, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity.

This person added that neither of the offers made by the two interested parties, Canada's Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd. and Dubai's Emirates NBD, was likely to have matched the government's expectation, because of which the bidding p...