Independent directors of Bank Al Habib have finalized a deal to acquire 70 percent shares of Habib Asset Management Company for Rs. 152 million.
According to the stock filing, the bank will purchase 21 million ordinary shares in the asset management company at Rs. 7.25 per share, which will result in the increase of stakes of the bank in the company from 30 percent to 100 percent.
The notification reads:
In respect of the proposed acquisition of the remaining 70% of the issued and paid up share capital of Habib Asset Management Company Limited, we wish to inform you that the Independent directors of the bank have negotiated and finalized the deal terms for the same. Accordingly, the bank shall acquire 21 million ordinary shares of the asset management company at a price of Rs. 7.25per share, aggregating to Rs. 152 million.
The deal will be subject to obtaining necessary corporate and regulatory approvals.
Bank Al Habib is currently holding 30 percent stakes in Habib Asset Management Company Limited, which manages 6 conventional and two Islamic mutual funds.
Bank Al Habib to Inject Rs. 450 Million in Subsidiary
The bank has announced that it will invest Rs. 450 million in the asset management company after completion of the deal to enhance the equity requirement prescribed by the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan. The amount will help the asset management company streamline and expand its operations smoothly in the competitive market of fund managers.
The proposed finalized deal will give total control to Bank Al Habib over Habib Asset Management Company, which will not only stabilize its operations in the coming months but is likely to pay back handsomely to Bank Al Habib through its collaborations and supervisory role.
Recently, a similar deal was concluded by Faysal Bank to acquire a full shareholding in its associated mutual fund manager.
Bank Al Habib recorded a profit of Rs. 6.9 billion in three quarters of 2019, which is around Rs. 1 billion more than the profit last year. The bank has expanded more than 750 branches countrywide to become the sixth-largest bank in terms of branches.
