November 23, 2002	Saturday	Ramazan 17, 1423

KARACHI, Nov 22: Transpak Corporation Limited — the stock market listed company — announced on Friday, the change of hands of majority equity and management, with the new board offering to buyback minority shares at Rs42 per share.

The company that has been in the business of production and sale of ‘Sparkle’ brand of toothpaste, ‘Shield’ toothbrushes and ‘Shield’ range of feeders, nipples and baby soothers, said that a share purchase and management agreement had been executed by Ebrahim Qassim and his nominees with outgoing chairman and CEO Mohammad Basheer Sulaiman. By virtue of the agreement, a total of 2.285 million shares of the face value of Rs10 each, representing 76.15 per cent of the total issued and paid-up capital of Rs30 million of the company had been acquired at the rate of Rs42 per share. The market price of the said shares at the time of acquisition was Rs39.05 per share.

In terms of Clause 37 (xxix) of the Listing Regulations of the Karachi Stock Exchange, the new owners had offered to acquire shares of the minority shareholders at the same price as offered to the major stakeholders. The offer was stated to be valid for one week from the date of offer.

The 10-rupee share in Transpak Corporation is currently traded at Rs38. Paid-up capital has remained unchanged at Rs30 million; all of it paid-up in cash; there being no bonus issues since the company’s stock market listing in 1976. The board distributed cash dividends at 30 per cent for the shareholders, for several years, raising it to 50 per cent for 2001 and the same rate for 2002.