31 October 2004	Sunday	16 Ramazan 1425

LAHORE, Oct 30: The family of the late Mian Barkat Ali, one of the directors of the Ittefaq Group of Industries, has submitted in the Lahore High Court that it is prepared to pay Rs2.16 billion, Rs10 million more than the earlier offer , for four steel units of the group.

The offer was made by Mian Barkat Shafi through his counsel Syed Sabtain Ali Shah Fazli at a stage when the court is seeking unanimously agreed terms and conditions for a fresh bid for the disposal of the units.

Justice Muhammad Sair Ali deferred till Nov 4 further hearing of a National Bank of Pakistan application, seeking the court's approval for the sale of the Ittefaq Foundry and the Brothers Steel at Kot Lakhpat, the Ittefaq Brothers at Shahdara and the Ilyas Enterprises on the Bund Road. These had been sold out to the Al-Rehmat Group of Companies for Rs2.15 billion.

On the submission by Advocate Syed Mansoor Ali Shah, the counsel for the family of Mian Merajdin, the court expressed its willingness to also examine the matter in the light of the proposition that the steel units should be restored and revived instead of winding them up.

The court suggested further modification and improvement in the terms and conditions for the disposal of the units and issued directions to the counsel of almost all the parties to the deal when they presented another draft for the same.

The court wanted to ensure that legal safeties and securities in the bargain were made foolproof when fresh bid for the units was invited.

Major features of the terms and conditions on which all the seven families of the Ittefaq Group agreed was that only those international and local bids would be accepted, which offered a minimum of Rs2.15 billion as the price on which the assets were sold to the Al-Rehmat Group.

Also agreed was the condition that the bidder should submit a bank draft of Rs50 million with the bid documents and pay another Rs250 million soon after the bid was accepted and approved by the LHC. The successful bidder would submit bank guarantee for the remaining amount.

Once the terms and conditions were approved, fresh bids would be called through an advertisement and all parties to the deal had an agreement on this method for the sale of the four steel units.

The re-opening of the deal with the Al-Rehmat Group arose when almost all the Ittefaq Group families raised the objection that the price offered for the units was far less than the current market price. Except for the family of Mian Merajdin, which opposed the bargain left and right, almost all other families agreed to the sale but also stated that the assets had not been evaluated afresh and were disposed of on an evaluation done six years ago.