Zuellig Pharma BD\'s entire stake sold

The entire stake of Zuellig Pharma Bangladesh Limited (ZPBL), a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Zuellig Pharma, has been acquired by a foreign company named Rapid Keen Holdings Limited (RKHL), insiders have said.
RKHL, a British Virgin Island-based company, has already nominated two Bangladeshis as directors of its offshore entity, aiming to expand business in the country, officials said.
"Our full stake has already been sold to Rapid Keen Holdings, but the acquiring company runs business in the name of ZPBL," Pallab Chakraborty, ZPBL Bangladesh operations manager, told the FE on Tuesday.
The acquiring company of ZPBL is mulling different options to expedite its business in Bangladesh.
"We're now working with various options to expand our business in Bangladesh," he said.
ZPBL has been exclusively distributing products of Novartis, Sandoz and GSK in Bangladesh since launching of their wholly-owned operations here in 2006.
When asked about receiving clearance of their shares transferred from the authority concerned, Mr. Chakraborty said he is not assigned to look into the legal issues.
"I am responsible only for operations of the company," he told the FE.
The law official of the company was not available on Sunday, another official of ZPBL said.
The nominated Bangladeshi directors are Ekram Hussain and Beanus Hussain, according to its latest filings with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms.
"We've received soft copies of the documents relating to the company's share transfer," an official of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC&F) told the FE.
The official also said the RJSC&F will give final decision on the share transfer after scrutinising all soft copies as well as hard copies of the documents.
"We're yet to receive hard copies of all documents from the company," he added.
Besides, ZPBL has intended to transfer 1,289,282 ordinary shares, worth Tk 128.90 million at face value of Tk 100 each, in favour of RKHL, the filings showed.  
The actual selling price might be higher, which has not been exposed in the regulatory filings, industry insiders told the FE.
ZPBL was run mostly by money borrowed from the local banks instead of bringing sufficient fund or equity from abroad, they claimed.
The two Bangladeshi nominated directors are involved in a leading business entity, distributing products of a global electronics brand in Bangladesh.
ZPBL, a fully-owned subsidiary of Zuellig Bangladesh, was established in June 2006, although the distribution rights were awarded to ZPBL even before the company was set up in Bangladesh, they added.
They also said normally large multinational companies, listed in stock markets, usually ask for Request for Quotations (RFQ) from various suppliers to ensure transparency in any procurement process.
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