KARACHI, Oct 5 Suroor Investments Limited purchased 291.5 million shares of Atlas Bank at Rs4 per share from Atlas Group, a notice by the Bank at the KSE said on Tuesday.

It stated that the stock was transferred into the CDC blocked account of Suroor Investments Limited on Sept 30, after obtaining all regulatory approvals.

In another notice at the Exchange, Atlas Bank notified that in a meeting of the board held on Oct 1, the change of management from Atlas Group to Suroor had taken effect, by virtue of which the following directors had joined the board Naseer Abdullah Hussain Lootah; Nasim Beg; AsadUllah Khawaja; Farid Uddin; Ahmed Khalil and Shahryar Farrukh. The seventh member on the board, Hussain Lawai, presently CEO of the Bank representing Suroor Investments, was to “continue in his position.”

At the Karachi Stock Exchange, the heavy net purchases of shares worth $16.47 million by foreigners on Monday, comprised in the main, the 291 million shares that changed hands in the Bank in “off market” transaction.

The notice at KSE on Tuesday, however, showed that the acquisition deal had concluded at discount of 50 paisa, from the price of Rs4.50 per share, entered in the agreement with Suroor on Oct 4 last year. None of the two announcements by the Bank mentioned why the outgoing directors had conceded to let go a substantial sum of Rs145.5 million or $1.7 million (50 paisa on each of 291 million shares), in departure from the earlier agreed value.

Analysts reckoned that since the share in Atlas Bank was currently trading at the market, at less than half the contracted price, Atlas Board may have thought it prudent to agree to the discount.