Lakshmi Vilas locks in upper circuit on merger talks

The stock of Lakshmi Vilas Bank was left with only buyers and no sellers as the market was rife with talks that the bank's board was considering a merger with IndiaBulls Housing. The stock hit its upper circuit limit of 5 per cent at Rs. 92.75 per share on Friday.

The boards of Lakshmi Vilas Bank and Indiabulls Housing are said to be in discussions for a merger, reported a leading business daily. Consequent to this, the exchanges sought a clarification from the two companies citing the news article.

In responses to a clarification sought by the BSE exchange, the bank said that it is in discussions with various parties as part of the bank's corporate strategy and to augment its capital base. If any proposal is approved by the bank's board, it will disclose the same as required by SEBI's guidelines. On the other hand, IndiaBulls Housing said that the company is in compliance with all regulations and will make the necessary disclosure when applicable.

On Friday, the stock of Lakshmi Vilas Bank closed at Rs. 92.75 per share, up by Rs. 4.40 or 4.98 per cent, its upper circuit limit on BSE. The stock saw two day of consecutive rise and spiked up more than 10 per cent, in this week the stock moved up by 31.56 per cent.

Meanwhile, the stock of Indiabulls Housing Finance did not show as much excitement and was up half a per cent to close at Rs. 903.15 per share or Rs. 4.80 or 0.53 per cent on Friday.