The government has been approached by 20 merchant bankers and another 20 legal advisory firms ahead of the pre-bid conference for minority stake sales in state-run banks and financial firms. The people did not mention the names of companies that have sent queries for the empanelment. The plan to lower the government’s stake in banks andFinancial companies is required to comply with public shareholding norms mandated by the markets regulator. SEBI rules require companies to maintain a 25 percent public shareholdings, but has exempted government-owned firms from meeting these norms till August 2026. The government had set March 27 as the proposal due date/bid end date, and opening of technical bids will take place on March 28, according to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management’s notification. The pre- bid conference happened today at 3 pm, the people added, adding that all these companies have attending the conference, which took place at the same time as the government’s empanelments were held.