Pakistan International Airlines has been sold, with Arif Habib acquiring a 75% share for Rs135 billion.

The privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines has reached a critical phase, as the Arif Habib consortium has been selected as the successful bidder, acquiring a 75 percent ownership in the national carrier for a final bid of Rs135 billion.

The result was declared at the conclusion of the second and final bidding process, conducted under the oversight of the Privatisation Commission in Islamabad. The Federal Minister for Finance, Muhammad Aurangzeb, along with the Minister for Information, the Minister for Privatisation, senior government officials, and representatives of the bidding consortia, attended the live-broadcast process.

The concluding round of bidding commenced with a starting price of Rs115 billion. In a vigorous sequence of incremental bids, Lucky Cement elevated its offer to Rs115.5 billion, leading Arif Habib to respond with a counteroffer of Rs116 billion. The bidding persisted, with both parties consistently raising their offers, as Lucky Cement escalated to Rs116.75 billion and subsequently to Rs120.25 billion. Prior to the conclusion of the session, Arif Habib elevated its bid to Rs121 billion and ultimately concluded the competition with a final offer of Rs135 billion, above Lucky Cement’s last bid of Rs134 billion.

In the initial phase of the privatisation process, three pre-qualified bidders filed sealed proposals for the airline. Arif Habib and Lucky Cement submitted bids surpassing the government’s reference price of Rs100 billion, but Air Blue (Private) Limited proposed Rs26.5 billion. Bids were opened at approximately 3:30 PM, after which the Privatisation Commission Board assessed the reserve price before to proceeding with the procedure.

Three consortia are participating in the bidding process for the privatisation of PIA.

Muhammad Ali, Chairman of the Privatisation Commission, said that the reserve price remained confidential during the bidding process and required permission from both the commission’s board and the Cabinet Committee on Privatisation. He characterised the sale as a significant milestone, emphasising that Pakistan had not executed a large-scale privatisation transaction in almost two decades.

Officials indicate that the transaction arrangement allocates 92.5% of the offer sum straight to PIA for operational support and restructuring, with the remaining 7.5% designated for the federal government. The successful bidder will obtain managerial control via a 75% shareholding, with the opportunity to acquire the remaining stake subsequently.

The sale represents Pakistan’s second endeavour to privatise the formerly prominent airline, following an unsuccessful attempt last year that failed due to a solitary low bid. Subsequently, the government has taken on a substantial share of PIA’s legacy debt, while the airline has announced a resurgence to pre-tax profitability after over two decades. The removal of flight restrictions enacted by the United Kingdom and the European Union has enhanced the carrier’s prospects.

Officials engaged in the process anticipate that the infusion of private funds and expert management would stabilise PIA’s finances and enhance operational performance as the transaction progresses towards regulatory clearances and the formal transfer of ownership.