LR Global Bangladesh enters Agni Systems board with a 9% stake

LR Global Bangladesh Asset Management Company — an affiliate of the New York based investment holding company LRG in Bangladesh — entered the board of Agni Systems by buying 8.96% shares through the secondary market.

In a meeting on Sunday, the internet service provider (ISP) Agni Systems has decided to appoint Reaz Islam, and Muhammad Omar Soeb Chowdhury as its directors, nominated by the LR Global Bangladesh where Reaz Islam is the chief investment officer (CIO).

According to a price sensitive information (PSI) by a company official, Agni Systems will appoint both of them to meet the regulatory requirement of a minimum 30% shareholding by the sponsor-directors.

Currently, the company's sponsor-directors hold 23.81% shares.

Earlier, Agni Systems sought a time extension from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) to fulfil this shareholding requirement.

Owing to the company's request, BSEC had allowed it four more months till December 2021.

But the BSEC did not get any progress report regarding the issue, and on 11 May, it sent a letter to the company asking to explain their position on the matter.

Agni Systems has been providing internet access since 1995, and it is a pioneering nationwide ISP in Bangladesh.

The company got listed on the stock exchanges in 2003.

The main business of the company is to render service of electronic mails, internet access, electronic data communication, computer networking, software development, and to provide consultancy services for all types of computer software and communications.

In the last 2020-21 fiscal year, the company made a profit of Tk5.59 crore and paid a 3.5% cash dividend to its shareholders.

In the first nine months of the current fiscal year, its net profit after tax increased to Tk5.68 crore, an increase from Tk5.21 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal year.