ANSWER: SKS Microfinance
Explanation:
Bharat Financial Inclusion Limited (BFIL), formerly SKS Microfinance, on 11th Sept signed an exclusivity agreement for a potential merger with IndusInd Bank.
For IndusInd Bank, the immediate benefit will be deeper penetration in rural areas.
BFIL has more than 1,400 branches, around 7 million customers and a loan book of close to Rs 11,000 crore.
BFIL already works as a business correspondent for IndusInd Bank.
According to the IndusInd Bank statement, the agreement provides for a mutually agreed exclusivity period for due-diligence and discussions to evaluate a potential strategic combination between the company and BFIL by way of amalgamation through a scheme of arrangement or any other suitable structure.
The BFIL scrip closed at Rs 967.25, up 3.34 per cent, while IndusInd Bank shares rose 5.56 per cent to close at Rs 1,790.65 on the BSE.
The deal will bring a degree of business stability for the microfinance company, which has witnessed periodic surges in risk and uncertainty since 2010.
BFIL: Know More - Founded by Vikram Akula in 1997, SKS Microfinance became India’s first microfinance company to go public after it debuted on the BSE in July 2010.
- But trouble started soon afterwards in its biggest business base, Andhra Pradesh, where, following a spate of suicides by poor borrowers, the state government told people not to repay loans.
- The crisis led to a leadership change with Akula quitting the company as its executive chairman the following year.
- Currently 98.37 per cent of BFIL shares are held by the public and 86.33 per cent of these shares are with foreign portfolio investors.
- It was reported that a swap ratio of one share of IndusInd Bank for 1.75 shares of BFIL was agreed upon by both parties
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