BLS International share price today: BLS International Services' share price fell 8% from its record high earlier today. The stock hit an intraday low of Rs 436.3 per share, a steep drop from the record high of Rs 474.45 per share reached in the morning trade on Friday, September 13.
At 1:41 PM, BLS International's share price was trading 4.2 percent down at Rs 438.2 a share, compared to the BSE Sensex's 47-point (0.03 percent) loss. On Thursday, BLS International Services said that it has inked a formal deal to acquire a 100% ownership in Citizenship Invest (CI), a Dubai-based advising business that specializes in fast-track investor programs for getting residency and citizenship in over 15 countries.
"The acquisition value of the 100% stake is $31 million (Rs 260 crore), and the transaction will be funded through internal accruals. The transaction is expected to be completed by October 31, 2024," the company stated in its stock market statement.
Citizenship Invest provides services through twenty programs. It has successfully aided over 1,800 individuals from more than 85 countries. Citizenship Invest reported audited revenues of $9.6 million (Rs 81 crore) and an EBITDA of $4.4 million (Rs 37 crore) for calendar year 2023, indicating a strong Ebitda margin of 45%.
In CY23, Citizen Invest's revenue increased by 28%, Ebitda by 43%, and margin increased by 470 basis points over CY22.
"By incorporating CI into our portfolio, we are expanding our ability to deliver long-term visa solutions and strengthening our position as a comprehensive worldwide provider of visa and consular services. We are confident that this acquisition will accelerate growth, increase application volumes, and strengthen our presence in the international market," said Shikhar Aggarwal, Joint Managing Director of BLS Worldwide Services Limited.
BLS International has been on an acquisition frenzy recently. On September 11, BLS International Services told the stock markets that its subsidiary, BLS International FZE, has subscribed for 99 percent of the share capital of BLS Solutions Pvt. Ltd (Bangladesh). Following the subscription, BLS Solutions Pvt. Ltd. will become a step-down subsidiary of the corporation. The cost of this share transaction is Rs 830 crore.
Previously, on August 30, BLS International said that it had signed a formal Share Purchase Agreement to buy a 51 percent ownership in SLW Media for Rs 80.24 lakh. SLW Media is a well-known sports management organization with more than two decades of expertise in the golf industry.
BLS International stated that by merging golf event management with its current expertise in visas, travel, and hospitality, it is developing a one-stop solution for luxury experiences catering to high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), corporate clients, and government officials.
BLS International Services is a technology-enabled service platform that provides visa, passport, consular, citizen, e-governance, attestation, biometric, e-visa, and retail services to both governments and citizens. BLS International's share price fell to a 52-week low of Rs 230.10 on October 26, 2023. The firm has a market value of somewhat more than Rs 18,000 crore. The shares have a price-to-earnings ratio of 518.63 times and a price-to-book value of 210.78x.
