Arif Habib Consortium on Tuesday won the auction for Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited with a successful bid of Rs135 billion, securing a 75% stake, after the privatisation process entered an open auction round at a ceremony in Islamabad.
The result marked Pakistan’s first major privatisation in nearly two decades.
Earlier in the day, pre-qualified bids came from Lucky Cement, private airliner Airblue and the Arif Habib consortium.
In the first round of bidding, Lucky Cement offered Rs101.5 billion, Airblue submitted Rs26.5 billion, while the Arif Habib consortium placed the highest bid at Rs115 billion.
Airblue exited the race as its bid fell short of the reference price of Rs100 billion, which was announced by authorities after the completion of the first round.
Officials then allowed a 30-minute break for consultations between the two highest bidders. After the break, the auction entered its second round that opened with a base bid of Rs115 billion — based on the highest first-round offer by Arif Habib.
The bidding rules set the minimum increment at Rs250 million as Arif Habib and Lucky Cement engaged in competitive bidding during the open auction.
Lucky Cement raised its offer to Rs134 billion before Arif Habib responded with a bid of Rs135 billion.
Following the move, Lucky Cement withdrew from the auction and congratulated Arif Habib.
The entire auction was broadcast live on TV and streamed across official social media platforms.