Laugfs gas has last laugh at EPF?

Within weeks after selling 8% stake in Laugfs Gas Plc to EPF at Rs. 48 per share the controlling shareholder has collected quantities at prices 20% cheaper.

Laugfs Holdings Ltd., the parent of Laugfs Gas Plc has disclosed that it had bought 130,000 voting shares at prices ranging between a low of Rs. 38.30 and a high of Rs. 41.40 on Friday and yesterday. The share price closed at Rs. 41.20, up by Rs. 1.20.

On October 10 EPF bought 33 million shares of Laugfs PLc at Rs. 48 per share in a deal worth Rs. 1.6 billion. With that purchase EPF’s holding in Laugfs rose to 17.28% or 57.8 million shares becoming the single largest outside shareholder. As at March 31, 2011, EPF’s stake of voting shares was a mere 5.6%.
EPF’s purchase which was on the run of a sudden rise of Laugfs share price drew lot of flak from the Opposition as well as market analysts. The argument was that if EPF was keen it could have collected shares at much lower price from the market than on the up and that is too from the controlling shareholder.