KARACHI:  Crescent Leasing Corporation Limited — a stock market listed company — made an offer to buy-back 453,901 shares from the public.The offer has been made by the proposed new owners, who have targeted the company for acquisition of 27.1 million shares.

Those represent 59.62 pr cent of the Crescent Leasing Corporation’s equity. The majority acquirers seek to buy one per cent shares from the public under the Listed Companies (Substantial Acquisition of Voting Shares and Take-Over) Ordinance 2002.

The controlling stake is being acquired from the current sponsors at Rs13 per share. And the same price has been offered to the public.

Al-Zamin Leasing Modaraba (acting through its management company — Al-Zamin Modaraba Management Pvt Ltd); Zahidjee Textile Mills Ltd and four individuals are stated to have pooled resources to buy out the Leasing Company.

The majority stakeholders currently include Shakarganj Mills Ltd; Crescent Standard Business Management (Pvt) Ltd; Crescent Steel & Allied Products Ltd; Asian Stock Fund Ltd; Safeway Mutual Fund Ltd; Crescent Commercial Bank Ltd. And four individuals (seemingly all of the same family). “Well I thought I can put my money to better use,” said one seller.

The acquirers announced that an offer letter would be sent to the shareholders whose names appear on the Share Register of the target company on the date of publication of announcement (March 30, 2007). The offer period is between March 30, 2007 and April 20, 2007.