ICICI Ventures is close to picking up a 5% equity stake in Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX). Earlier this year multinationals like Merrill Lynch and Citigroup had bought 5% each in the exchange. According to sources, talks with ICICI Ventures and a couple of other investors have been going on for the past couple of months. An announcement on the same is expected soon. Earlier this year when Financial Technologies (FT), the promoter of MCX, sold its stake to Citi and Merrill Lynch the exchange was valued at slightly over $1 bn. The stake sale to ICICI Ventures is also likely to be around the same valuation. ICICI Ventures may buy the stake from Financial Technologies. FT currently holds 49% in the exchange. The other major stakeholders of the exchange are HDFC Bank, SBI and other public sector banks holding a total 27%, FID Fund (Mauritus) — an affiliate of Fidelity International has a 9% stake, both Citi and Merrill Lynch have a 5% stake each, Passport India Investment (Mauritius) has 3% stake while GLG Financials Fund has another 2% stake. When contacted senior MCX officials said “We would not like to confirm or deny the development at this stage.” […]