After opening the day in green, share markets in India continued the uptrend and are trading in green. Sectoral indices are trading on a positive note with stocks in the capital goods sector and stocks in the power sector leading the gains.
The BSE Sensex is trading up by 210 points (up 0.7%), and the NSE Nifty breached the 10,000 mark, and is trading up by 74 points (up 0.7%). Meanwhile, the BSE Mid Cap index is trading up by 0.9%, while the BSE Small Cap index is trading up by 0.8%. The rupee is trading at 63.94 to the US$.
In news from stocks in the banking sector. IndusInd Bank share price is in focus today after the bank entered into an agreement with Bharat Financial Inclusion for a potential merger.
The agreement provides for a mutually agreed exclusivity period for due diligence and discussions to evaluate a potential strategic combination between the two companies.
The transaction will be subject to due diligence approval of the boards, shareholders, statutory/regulatory and other third-party entities, as required under the applicable laws.
The two financial firms had long been speculated to be interested in a deal, with multiple media reports saying previously, it could come in the form of a share swap.
IndusInd Bank is India’s sixth-largest private sector lender by assets and has a market value of about $16 billion, while Bharat Financial Inclusion, formerly known as SKS Microfinance Ltd, is valued at more than $2 billion.
The development comes at a time when Bharat Financial is facing stiff competition from banks, both universal and small finance banks.
If the deal goes through it would be interesting to see how both the institutions are able to match their synergies and grow in the long term.
At the time of writing, IndusInd Bank share price was trading up by 5.1%.
Note that mergers and acquisitions activity was seen to pick up in the previous year, at an all-time high.
