The shares of G4S, a FTSE 100-listed company, in Wackenhut Pakistan Private Limited (WPPL) have been bought completely by its Pakistani partner. Wackenhut Chairman Ikram Sehgal already owned 50 percent stake in the company.
The share purchase has been registered with the Security and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). Ikram Sehgal said the buyout was primarily driven by the Pakistan government's decision not to allow any foreign shareholding in private security agencies in the country.
He declined to disclose other reasons which prompted the buyout but said G4S had offered him more than a fair price for his shares but he had declined the generous offer. Even though they will never acknowledge it, for G4S this is certainly a great setback. The buyout has surprised the security services sector around the world as it was not expected not only that a Pakistani entity could have the resources to buy out the shares of the largest security services company in the world and why should G4S decide to sell out their shares in a growth industry.
Sehgal said the deal would not have been possible without the support of the country's renowned bank, Bank Al Falah. The company will now be run solely under Pakistani management, along with its sister concern, Security and Management Services (Pvt) Ltd, a 100 percent Pakistani Company and a well-known entity in the safety and security sector in the country. They will be supported in security services by SMS Electronic Safety Services (Pvt) Ltd (SMS ESS) and Research and Collection Services (Pvt) Ltd (RCS). The group now employs nearly 15,000 people and offers security and facility management services across Pakistan.-PR