Shares of Spandana Spoorthy Financial Ltd zoomed almost 9 per cent on the bourses on Thursday on reports that Axis Bank may be looking to acquire the microfinancier.

On the BSE, shares of Spandana Spoorthy ended with gains of 8.63 per cent at Rs 743.60. Intra-day, the stock hit a high of Rs 820 — up 19.80 per cent over the previous close.

The gains in the counter came after a Moneycontrol report said Axis Bank was in talks to acquire the microfinancier and that the latter was also open to a complete sale. The acquisition is part of the private sector lender’s efforts to reduce its priority sector lending cost.

In a clarification to the stock exchanges, Spandana Spoorthy said as a matter of corporate policy, it does not comment on media speculation.

Spandana Spoorthy is the second-largest microfinance company in the country with assets under management of Rs 8,157 crore and an active customer base of 24.45 lakh.

For the March quarter of 2021, the company posted a net profit of Rs 41.64 crore against Rs 77.49 crore a year ago.