Markets closed higher. Nifty 50 closed at 9401.70 (119.4, 1.3%) , BSE Sensex closed at 32114.52 (371.4, 1.2%) while the broader Nifty 500 closed at 7685.85 (81.9, 1.1%)

💫Market breadth is in the green. Of the 1611 stocks traded today, 825 were in the positive territory and 700 were negative.

💫Religare Broking analysts bet on Britannia, HUL

💫IndusInd Bank, Avanti Feeds among the top gainers in markets today.


💫Gateway Distriparks says it has de-pledged shares held with IL&FS. Prism International,  a subsidiary of GDL had availed a term loan facility of  Rs 75 crore from IL&FS Financial Services Limited (IFIN) in September 2017, which was to be repaid by October, 2020. The loan was secured by a pledge of 65 lakh listed shares of Gateway Distriparks Limited.


💫Prism has now prepaid the amount on 22nd April 2020. IFIN has released 64,70,000 shares on 27th April 2020, which represents 26% of the 22.9% GDL's shareholding by Prism and 5.95% of GDL’s share capital.

💫Tata Motors says that it will be issuing non-convertible debentures (NCDs) worth Rs 1,000 crore, in an effort to raise liquidity as lockdowns freeze car sales.


💫Axis Bank's share price is up today ahead of results. Analysts are expecting a decline in net profit for the bank. 

💫Ambuja Cements, Sasken announce results.

💫Abakkus Investors had a call with Finolex management. Check Discover to see who is meeting whom.

💫Markets are volatile in early trading. Nifty 50 was trading at 9340.55 (58.3, 0.6%) , BSE Sensex was trading at 31848.86 (105.8, 0.3%) while the broader Nifty 500 was trading at 7650.95 (47, 0.6%). Market breadth is highly positive. Of the 1401 stocks traded today, 917 were on the uptick, and 395 were down.

*Axis Bank – Max Life Deal Update*
(Nirmal Bang Retail Research)

 Axis Bank will be acquiring 30% stake (55.64 Cr shares) in Max Life (unlisted subsidiary of Max Financial Service Ltd). 
 The deal value has not been decided as yet and will be based on the Tax adjusted    B V at the end of the year. Tax Adj. BV is dependent on the profits and is also impacted by MTM on bonds. At the end of 9MFY20, the tax adjusted BV stood at ~Rs. 28/share.
 The pay-out to buy the residual stake of 5% from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance is expected to be ~Rs. 840 Cr. This transaction will be at a HoldCo (MFSL) level, wherein, MFSL will receive deal value from Axis Bank and will pay MSI. Post completion of the transaction Max Life will become a 70:30 JV between MFSL and Axis Bank.
 Axis and Max Life will look to file for merger by mid of CY21. If the merger not be completed, which is a remote possibility, by a pre-agreed timeline of 5 years, the transactions provide for a put option for Axis Bank to sell all shares in Max Life at a price of Rs 294 per share within 9 months of exercise of such put option. A potential roadblock to the merger was the telecom liability (~Rs. 120Cr) and the company has decided to settle it under the amnesty scheme. At the Holdco level, the company has enough liquidity to pay off the liability.
 Analjit Singh (promoter) is also looking to reduce the pledge levels by monetizing the stake in the healthcare business which will be subsequently listed post the approval from NCLT and also monetizing a small portion of the stake in MFSL.
 With the Yes Bank Banca agreement renewed for 5 years, Axis Bank deal and improvement in product mix with protection business doing well, Max Life is doing significantly well despite tough macros.