Bank of Baroda is in talks to purchase a majority stake in Central Bank of India's housing finance subsidiary, Cent Bank Home Finance, the Press Trust of India reported Dec. 11, citing unnamed sources.

Central Bank, which holds a 64% stake in Cent Bank Home Finance, has agreed to sell its entire stake to Bank of Baroda and talks are already at an advanced stage, according to the sources. Investment bankers expect Central Bank to get 2.5 billion rupees from the deal.

Bank of Baroda has appointed SBI Capital Markets as an advisor, while Central Bank named IDBI Capital and other merchant bankers as advisors, the report added.

It is not clear if Bank of Baroda also approached the housing finance arm's other shareholders - Hudco, UTI and National Housing Bank - to purchase their stakes.

Bank of Baroda and Central Bank of India did not respond to calls and text messages from the news agency.

As of Dec. 9, US$1 was equivalent to 67.52 Indian rupees.