ING Vysya Bank hits new high; Kotak Mahindra Bank nears record high on shareholders nod for merger

Shares of ING Vysya Bank hit a new high, while Kotak Mahindra Bank trading nears to its record high on the bourses after Shareholders of Kotak Mahindra Bank gave their approval to merge Bengaluru-based ING Vysya Bank with itself.

At 1135 hours, ING Vysya Bank was up 3.4% at Rs 908, also its record high on BSE.  Kotak Mahindra Bank was up 3% at Rs 1,305 after hitting high of Rs 1,310 during intra-day trade on BSE. It touched a record high of Rs 1,312 on December 12, 2014.

At an extraordinary general meeting held on n January 7, 2015, shareholders of the Kotak Mahindra Bank approved themerger proposal. The exchange ratio has been fixed at 725 shares of Kotak with 1,000 shares of ING Vysya.

The amalgamation was approved by 99.30% in number representing 99.93% in value of the shareholders present. The merger is subject to the approval of Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Competition Commission of India (CCI) and such other approvals as may be required, Kotak Mahindra Bank said in a statement.

Merger places Kotak Mahindra Bank in a sweet spot for the next growth cycle with strong presence across geographies, expertise in key product lines and continued healthy capitalization (CAR of 16.5%). Kotak Mahindra Bank premium multiples are likely to sustain considering strong growth in the coming years, said analyst at Motilal Oswal Securities in a report dated November 21, 2014.