General Cable to acquire 25% stake in Pakistan Cables

BGC commits to investing $7 million by taking up a 25 per cent equity stake in Pakistan Cables Limited.

KARACHI: General Cable Corporation (BGC) has committed to investing seven million dollars by taking up a 25 per cent equity stake in Pakistan Cables Limited.

BGC is headquartered in the United States and is a Fortune 500 company. A signing ceremony to formally commemorate the agreement was held in Karachi on Saturday.

“Pakistan Cables (PCL) shall issue new equity worth seven million dollars,” CEO of PCL Kamal Ahmed Chinoy told The Express Tribune. “Each share will be priced at one dollar for General Cable and they (General Cable Corp) will acquire just fewer than 25 per cent shares in the company,” he added.

Chinoy also lauded the Fortune 500 company for its long-term commitment to a Pakistani company. “Clearance has already been received from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan in this regard,” said PCL’s product manager for general wiring, Fahd Chinoy.

“Permission is now being sought from the Competition Commission,” he said, adding that “the entire process may take up to eight weeks.”

General Cable has been in pursuit of businesses in emerging economies, having set up offices in South Africa, India, Peru and Algeria. On Friday, the company announced the launching of a joint venture entitled International Cable Industries in Oman. A day earlier, the company informed that it had acquired the Egyptian firm, BICC.

Speaking about his company’s intent to acquire a stake in Pakistan Cables, BGC President Gregory B Kenny said, “We see a rich opportunity to improve both companies through the sharing of best practices and new markets,” adding that, “we are here for the long-run.”

Kenny said that his company has “long and deep historic ties with Pakistan Cables” and expressed delight at the renewal “of these ties through a formal linkage between the two important industrial companies.”

The signing ceremony was attended by the Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Shahid Kardar, Deputy Governor of the SBP Yaseen Malik, senior managers of General Cable Corporation, Pakistan Cables and US consul general William J Martin.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 26^th, 2010.