After the highest bidder, Star Cotton Corporation Limited (STCCL), the second bidder, Haji Saifullah Group, has also refused to acquire 90 percent shares of Thatta Cement Company Limited (TCCL) for its offer of Rs 10.75 per share.
The STCCL's deal for TCCL was eclipsed last month when its representatives conveyed to the Privatisation Commission that they were not going to meet the deadline set for depositing the amount.
As per the rules, the Privatisation Commission took up the matter with the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) for grant of permission to extend its offer to the second highest bidder, which was accorded accordingly.
This followed formal offer of 90 percent shares of TCCL to Haji Saifullah Group, after expiry of STCCL's deadline to deposit money to materialise its deal for its offer of Rs 10.75 per share. Haji Saifullah Group also backed out of the deal.
It is a disturbing situation for the Privatisation Commission, which had listed TCCL sell-off among its major achievements last month when bidding was conducted.
Sources told Business Recorder that quick rise in loans against the company, less chances of recovery of bad loans and weak case against one of its former managing directors who was under National Accountability Bureau (NAB) custody for alleged bungling and disposal of cement stocks against the cited criteria were some of the major reasons for which bidders stayed away from the TCCL.
Now, the Privatisation Commission is left with only one option to save the deal and that is to offer the company to the third bidder, Al-Abass Group of Companies, whose representative, Ghani Usman Adhi, had offer Rs 9.90 per share of the company.
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