Search for a global partner was necessitated following parting of the company between SBI Caps and Lehman Brothers, SBI Caps chief executive Birendra Kumar told PTI.

"We are looking at all options including strategically placing a portion of our equity with a foreign investment bank to cash in on the increased international activities of the domestic companies and their desire for increased global presence," he added.

Currently, State Bank of India (SBI) holds 86 per cent of equity in SBI Caps and the remaining 14 per cent is held by Asian Development Bank (ADB), which took the stake at Rs 89 per share few years back.

The merchant bank was earlier planning a public issue to reduce SBI's stake to 51 per cent before this fiscal, but put this on back burner owing to difficult market sentiments.

Kumar said SBI Caps, which reported a profit after tax of Rs 30 crore in 1998-99, has decided to go aggressive in consultancy for mergers & acquisitions (M&A), securitisation and privatisation and restructuring of state electricity boards.

Currently, all leading domestic merchant bankers except SBI Caps has a tie-up with foreign investment bankers and this has helped them in cornering bulk of the overseas business of Indian companies.

Kotak Mahindra is tied up with Goldman Sahchs, JM Financials has a joint venture with Morgan Stanley, DSP is having a partnership with Merrill Lynch.

Kumar said a tie-up with foreign investment bank was necessary if SBI Caps wanted to corner a share of overseas investment banking business emerging from the country.

When asked whether the merchant banker had already initiated negotiations with propective partners, Kumar said "it would be disclosed at the right time."

"Currently, we are not involved in any of the private or public sector companies' overseas listing plans," Kumar said adding this could change after a tie-up with an internationally reputed investment bank.

Though PSUs like Mahanagar Telephone Nigam, Videsh Sanchar Nigam and others are going for Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), the issues are handled by international investment bankers.

Earlier, through the tie-up Lehman Brothers, SBI Caps had received SBI's mandate for its GDR issue in 1995.

However, in the domestic market, Kumar said SBI Caps is currently handling at least three dozen M&A deals, debt issues, restructuring of Kanpur Electricity Board, Delhi Vidyut Board, Uttar Pradesh Industrial Development Corporation (UPSIDC) among other things.