The stock, which was hovering around its all time low in October this year, shot up by over 61 per cent, from Rs 44.20 on October 31 to touch Rs 71.15, as on November 14. Interestingly, the counter has seen a huge spurt in volumes and prices despite the fact that the company is yet to be out of the woods.

Bata India has been dogged by labour troubles. Since November, volumes have increased to touch an average of 2.12 lakh shares per day and 3.1 lakh shares per day during the last seven trading days.

According to market sources, some outside party may be busy accumulating the stock. "The large retail network is the major strength of the company and some of its outlets enjoy low rentals. Though, a takeover bid seems to be a distant preposition, looking at the company's strong parentage, some party may be accumulating shares of the company," said a broking source.

"The company is not in a position to declare dividend or bonus shares. This indicates that the spurt may not be due to internal factors," said the broker.

The company had gone out of favour of the markets, since it lost its ground to multinationals coming into the country. Bata shifted its focus on the premium segment, and lost out on the economy sector where it had most of its customer base. However, the company has since re-focused itself. The company has started a rigorous restructuring exercise. Its mother unit at Batanagar, Calcutta is expected to be downsized. Outsourcing has been another tool used to restructure the business. Its shoe range christened `Power' has already being outsourced to China, reducing the costs tremendously.