Now 2 Walton directors transferring shares to next generation

The two sponsor shareholders of Walton Hi-Tech Industries – a local electronics giant – have decided to transfer around 2.11 crore shares from their holdings to their sons and daughters, according to the company's disclosures.

The sponsor-directors are SM Ashraful Alam, who is now vice chairman, and SM Nurul Alam Rezvi, a shareholder director on the board of Walton.

According to a stock exchange filing on Thursday (19 September), SM Ashraful Alam intends to transfer 1.21 crore shares equally between his son Shahriar Alam Shuvo and his daughter Fariha Alam Prova.

The shares will be transferred as a gift outside the trading system of exchanges within the next 30 working days, starting from 17 September.

According to the shareholding report for August, Ashraful Alam owns 6.54 crore shares, or 21.59% of the company.

Meanwhile, SM Nurul Alam Rezvi has expressed his intention to transfer 90 lakh shares to his daughter Rifah Tasnia Swarna. These shares will also be transferred as a gift outside the trading system of exchanges within the next 30 working days, starting from 17 September.

According to the shareholding report for August, Nurul Alam Rezvi owns 3.30 crore shares, or 10.89% of Walton.

Previously, on 15 September, SM Shamsul Alam, a sponsor-director and chairman of Walton, announced his intention to transfer over 3.64 crore shares to his wife and daughters. He owns six crore shares, or 19.81% of Walton Hi-Tech Industries.

His daughter Sabiha Jarin Orona and his wife Shahinur Akter Jolly, both general shareholders of the company, will receive 1.81 crore shares and 90.81 lakh shares, respectively. Additionally, Shamsul Alam's other daughter Tahmina Afrose Tanna, who is a shareholder director on the board of Walton, will receive 91.75 lakh shares.

Currently, out of its total 30.29 crore shares, Walton's sponsor-directors own 98.51%, while the remaining 1.49% is owned by general shareholders, including institutions at 0.66%, foreigners at 0.10%, and public shareholders at 0.73%.

Walton went public in 2020 by offloading only 1% of its shares in the secondary market. In 2021, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) initiated efforts to increase the free float to reduce manipulation. Consequently, in September 2021, the commission directed Walton Hi-Tech Industries, along with the state-owned Investment Corporation of Bangladesh and Berger Paints (Bangladesh), to ensure at least 10% free float.

According to Walton's status report on share transactions, as of 30 June 2024, there were 15.85 lakh shares sold by the sponsors/directors to general and other shareholders.

For the fiscal 2023-24, Walton reported a profit of Tk1,356 crore, an increase of Tk573.85 crore compared to the previous fiscal year. The board of directors has decided to pay 200% cash dividends to sponsor-directors and 350% to general shareholders.