Shares of IndusInd bank zoomed over 5 per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange after the Bank said that it has entered into an exclusivity agreement with Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd (BFIL) to evaluate merger between the two companies.

The board of directors of IndusInd Bank has on Monday, September 11, 2017 entered into a “confidentially, exclusively and standstill agreement with BFIL, IndusInd Bank said in a statement.

The management of IndusInd Bank has been authorized to explore strategic opportunities for the expansion of business of the bank and to assess the viability of strategic partnership, collaboration, or restructuring opportunities from time to time,” it added.

Following the statement, shares of the company gained as much as 5.22 per cent to trade at Rs 1785 apiece on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

In a similar fashion, shares of the company were trading 5.27 per cent higher at Rs 1,785.30 apiece on the National Stock Exchange.

Meanwhile, the broader benchmark BSE Sensex was trading at 31,887.28, up 199.76 points, or 0.63 per cent, at 12:45 hours.