PSX: Two listed firms to buy back shares at higher price

Share buyback by Arif Habib Ltd, Arif Habib Corp expected to revive investor confidence

KARACHI: Two companies, listed at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), have announced that they will buy back their shares from ordinary shareholders at a price higher than the market value in a bid to help revive confidence in the falling bourse.

The two companies appear to be the first that have announced the share buyback in the backdrop of recent launch of softened rules - Listed Companies (Buyback of Shares) Regulations 2019 - and included Arif Habib Corporation Limited (AHCL) and Arif Habib Limited (AHL).

“AHCL’s buyback price is at a premium of 43% and AHL’s buyback price is at a premium of 15% of the market price per share, prior to the notification for board meeting on May 29,” said a joint statement of the two companies.

AHCL’s board of directors has approved the proposal of buying back its own fully paid-up ordinary shares from shareholders of the company at a face value of Rs10 each and at a price of Rs27 per share, aggregating up to Rs1.22 billion and up to a maximum of 45.37 million shares.

On the other hand, AHL’s board of directors has approved the proposal of buying back its own fully paid-up ordinary shares from shareholders of the company at a face value of Rs10 each and at a price of Rs35 per share, aggregating up to Rs231 million and up to a maximum of 6.6 million shares.

The purchases would start in the second week of July 2019 and would end at the close of first week of August 2019, it stated.

Earlier, the board of directors of the two companies, in their separately held meetings, approved the buyback of shares of their respective companies through a tender offer, it added.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 5^th, 2019.

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