Central Pharma's 2 directors to transfer shares to IDLC Investments
Of the shares, Munsur Ahamed, a sponsor director of Central Pharmaceuticals, holds 15,100,000 shares, and Morsheda Ahmed, another sponsor director, holds 6,725,000 shares
Highlights:
- DSE approves transfer of 21,825,000 shares to IDLC
- Munsur Ahamed holds 15.1m shares, Morsheda Ahmed 6.7m
- They took loans from IDLC Investments using shares as collateral (lien)
- Share transfer to occur within 30 working days
- IDLC initiated share transfer due to unpaid loans
The Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) has approved the transfer of 21,825,000 shares of Central Pharmaceuticals Limited to IDLC Investments Limited, a subsidiary of IDLC Finance, according to a disclosure made on Wednesday (23 October).
Of the shares, Munsur Ahamed, a sponsor director of Central Pharmaceuticals, holds 15,100,000 shares, and Morsheda Ahmed, another sponsor director, holds 6,725,000 shares.
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Both directors will transfer their shares within 30 working days, starting from 22 October 2024. The transfer will be conducted in compliance with the Dhaka Stock Exchange (Listing) Regulations, 2015, a court order, and other applicable laws.
A senior company official said on condition of anonymity that the two directors had taken loans from IDLC Investments, using their remaining shares as collateral, and invested the funds in the capital market. However, they were unable to fully repay their loans. As a result, IDLC Investments has initiated the transfer of these liened shares.
An official of IDLC Investments, also speaking anonymously, said the loans were taken in 2017 against their shares to invest in margin accounts in the capital market. Unfortunately, they incurred losses, and their accounts fell into negative equity.
Unable to repay the loans, IDLC Investments sought approval from the Dhaka Stock Exchange to transfer the shares, which has now been granted, the official added.
TBS attempted to contact one of the two directors, Munsur Ahamed, for a comment but the calls went unanswered.
Company financials and background
Central Pharmaceuticals, listed on the stock exchange since 2013, saw its share price close at Tk9.10 on the Dhaka Stock Exchange Wednesday.
In January to March 2024, Central Pharma reported a net loss of Tk1.92 crore, compared to a net loss of Tk60 lakh in the same quarter of the previous year. The company's loss per share was Tk0.16 during this period, compared to Tk0.05 a year ago.
In 2018, the National Board of Revenue (NBR) froze three Central Pharma bank accounts with Janata Bank, demanding Tk49 crore in unpaid taxes. Since then, the company has been operating through cash transactions.
In 2017, Alif Group expressed interest in acquiring Central Pharma. Although the acquisition did not materialise, speculation about a change in ownership caused the company's share price to surge by 120%.
The board of directors of Central Pharma has not met the regulatory requirement of holding 30% of the company's shares jointly. The sponsors and directors hold only 25.89% of the company's shares.
As of the report dated 30 September, general shareholders hold 68.12% of the company's shares, while institutions hold 5.99%.
