Tri-Star Power Limited has found itself in the news for a surprising situation a second time this year. The latest development in the peculiar case of Tri-Star is the shocking acquisition of a staggering 1,500,000 TSPL shares by Imran Arif Dawood. In an unprecedented move that sent shockwaves throughout the market, Dawood announced the acquisition of TSPL shares that translate into a monumental 10% stake in the company. This is not the first time that someone has shown interest in acquiring stakes in TSPL, however, Dawood is the first one to successfully do it, in recent months.
Tri-Star’s saga of one takeover attempt after another
Tri-Star Power Ltd is a power company located in SITE, Karachi that provides electricity on a rental basis to customers within the same industrial group. Apart from this, the company has also had a recent history of treacherous ups and downs, having evaded a potential takeover only a month ago.
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The tl;dr discusses how in April this year, it was heard that a Turkish investor named Aykut Çalikuu had expressed interest in buying more than 51% of the shares of Tri-Star Power. However, this deal fell through when someone involved in the transaction alleged that the company’s management was obstructing the takeover attempt by highlighting certain malpractices and violations.
The potential buyer had been accused of causing a massive 431% increase in the price of the company’s shares between July 2022 and February 2023, even though there were no significant changes in the company’s operations. However, following the announcement of the possible takeover, the company’s share price started to decline. On March 8, 2023, the shares closed at Rs 16.04, but after the public announcement of the possible takeover on March 9, 2023, the share price plummeted to Rs 13.93, a decrease of 13% in just two days.
Luckily for TSPL, these actions were in violation of the Securities Act 2015 and the regulations set by the Listed Companies (Substantial Acquisition of Voting Shares and Takeovers) Regulations 2017., and raised several legal questions. The Sindh High Court intervened and ordered a halt to the takeover attempt, helping TSPL avert the hostile acquisition.
Dawood’s acquisition of 1,500,000 TSPL shares indicates that Tri-Star remains a sought after company, especially because the power sector in Pakistan offers lucrative returns, making it a desirable sector to invest in.
