KARACHI: The Army Welfare Trust (AWT) proposes to acquire all shares of the Askari General Insurance Company Limited (AGICO) held by the Askari Bank Limited (AKBL) at Rs25.50 per share, separate filings by AWT and AKBL at the stock exchange on Monday said.

AGICO was incorporated in 1995 and is sponsored by the AWT, the latter with 23 different companies working under its fold with most of them quoted on the stock exchange.

The share sale deal notified on Monday is subject to contract between the parties and obtaining of all necessary consents and approvals under the applicable laws and regulations.

“The exact number of shares to be purchased and other terms and conditions of the proposed transaction will be finalised by the parties after obtaining regulatory consents and approvals and completion of other transactional formalities,” AWT said in its despatch, adding: “The successful consummation of the proposed transaction will maximise value for shareholders by strengthening the Askari Insurance and enhancing its capacity to provide competitive service to consumers.”

The AKBL in its statement asserted: “The successful consummation of the proposed transaction will enable the AKBL to focus on its core banking business.”

A cursory glance at the balance-sheet of the AKBL at Dec 31, 2013, shows the bank’s holding at 27.17pc shares in Askari Insurance, represented by 8.373m shares out of the total outstanding shares at 30.821m shares of the insurance company.

The amount of AKBL investment is stated at Rs53.7m with the fair value of investment at Rs206m.

The market value of the Askari General Insurance Company Limited stock at the close of trading on Monday stood at Rs27.72.

Published in Dawn, October 28th, 2014