Agritech acquisition bid: Ashmore granted 90-day extension

SECP gives London based group 90 days to make a public offer for the acquisition of 80% stake in Agritech Limited.

KARACHI:

London-based company Ashmore Global Special Situations has been granted 90-day extension by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan to make a public offer for acquisition of 80 per cent stake in Agritech Limited, according to a notice on Karachi Stock Exchange’s website on Friday.

Ashmore Global Special Situations Fund Five, launched in 2008, primarily invests in private equity and other debt instruments in emerging markets. It contains $41.6 billion, as of September 2010, in pooled funds, segregated accounts and structured products.

Currently, Azgard Nine holds an 80 per cent stake in Agritech. AGL’s deal price is expected to be around Rs29 to Rs30 per share, which implies that the deal will be valued between Rs9.1 and Rs9.4 billion, estimated an analyst in December, 2010

Fauji Fertiliser Company Limited (FFC) in August 2010 had also showed a keen interest in buying 80 per cent or approximately 313 million shares of Agritech Limited.

Agritech was originally a fully owned subsidiary of Azgard Nine, acquired in July 2006 at a cost of Rs16.1 billion. However, Azgard Nine recently sold 20.13 per cent of its shareholding comprising 79.01 million shares of AGL at a price of Rs30 per cent share, raising Rs2.37 billion.







Published in The Express Tribune, June 11th, 2011.