Bol Network acquired by AsiaPak Investments

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Bol Network acquired by AsiaPak Investments​

Dawn.com Published September 11, 2023 Updated about 2 hours ago




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Bol Network announced on Monday that it had been acquired by AsiaPak Investments, a private equity firm, with a new chairman at the helm.
The press release said that Bol would remain headquartered in Karachi with “nationwide presence”. It highlighted that AsiaPak Investments had offices in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
“It invests only in Pakistan; its sectors include infrastructure, energy, power, transport, logistics, and, technology,” the statement added.
Further, Sameer Chishty was announced as the new chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Bol Network. The press release described Chishty as a “seasoned international technology investor in Asia and the Middle East”.
“Amazing progress is being made globally in digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and, telecommunications. Impact is being felt across the entire media ecosystem, including content creation, news, entertainment, gaming, music, education, communication, and, community,” the press release quoted Chishty as saying.
“As a general partner at SparkLabs Group investing in over 500 technology companies in China, Korea, Saudi Arabia, and other countries, I have seen first-hand the potential these technologies have in changing lives, transforming societies, and growing economies,” he said.
“And these are exactly the kinds of opportunities that must be made available for all Pakistanis. The new Bol Network promises powerful ways of generating and distributing content so we may all teach and we may all learn,” he said.
Chishty said that Bol would empower users to engage their communities on issues important to them.
“We will all make our voices heard. Together we will know more, do more, and, be more. Bol invites our viewers, our advertisers, our employees, as well as our future employees, to join us on this mission,” he said.
The network’s TV channel was set to be launched in 2015 but the plan was jettisoned after parent company Axact became embroiled in a fake degree scandal.
In August 2015, ARY Digital Network Founder and Chief Executive Officer Salman Iqbal had announced a take over of the Bol media network. The TV channel had eventually gone on air in October 2016 after months of delay due to the legal proceedings.
Shoaib Shaikh, the original owner of the network, was convicted in 2018 along with 22 others in the fake degree case.



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