Share purchase of TRG Pakistan: Greentree Holdings says will bring in $50m foreign exchange inflows

KARACHI: Greentree Holdings Limited has said it will bring foreign exchange inflows of over $50 million to Pakistan as a result of offering to purchase an additional 35.147% (or 191.69 million) share of TRG Pakistan at Rs75/per share, which was announced in a bourse filing on January 16, 2025.

The holding firm has begun the process of injecting the new equity into the domestic economy, it said, with book closure taking place on February 21, 2025.

The amount is significantly higher than the total disclosed funding of $42.5 million attracted by around dozen startups in the country in 2024 that included investment and credit facilities, according to I2I deal flow tracker. The exchange inflows would improve Pakistan’s balance of payment and support the domestic currency to stay strong against the US dollar.

The price offered to purchase new shareholding pays a premium of almost 35% to existing shareholders over December 20 2024’s closing price of Rs55.59/share at the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX). The company first expressed its interest to acquire 35.147% additional shares on December 23, 2024, it was learnt.

The intended purchase of new shareholding at 35.147% through tender offering would take up Greentree’s total shareholding to around 65%. It already holds 30% (or 162.01 million shares) at present.

Greentree manages the proceeds of the monetisation of the operating assets of TRG. Through the purchase of shares, the proceeds are being remitted to Pakistani shareholders.

According to a market analyst, Greentree has offered equal liquidity opportunities to every shareholder, and each shareholder has the flexibility to decide whether to sell shares and benefit from the liquidity or to continue to hold shares in order to have greater economic exposure to TRG assets.

Greentree started to make purchases of TRG Pakistan shares from the proceeds of the sale in 2021 of TRG’s stake in eTelequote. It was learnt that the continuation of these purchases by way of a tender are from the proceeds of the partial sale of its shares in IBEX Limited by TRG. A redemption of 35% of TRG Pakistan’s shares corresponds to a further remittance to Pakistan of around $52 million.

The purchase of new shareholding would be in compliance with existing takeover laws which require a tender offer once the threshold of 30% ownership is reached.

TRG Pakistan Limited will continue to operate as a listed company after the proposed acquisition and will continue its business operations and investments in the ordinary course, according to an announcement by AKD Securities.

Greentree Holdings Limited was incorporated as an exempt company in Bermuda in August 2020. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of a Bermuda incorporated company, TRG International Limited, which is an investment holding company.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2025

Disclaimer: A board member associated with Business Recorder also serves on the board of TRG. All opinions remain independent.