Pakistan receives strong bids to sell off PIA stake in major privatisation push

Pakistan’s sale of its national airline has drawn interest from several parties, including domestic carrier Airblue Ltd. and prominent businessmen Muhammad Ali Tabba and Arif Habib. 

Five groups have submitted qualification documents by the Thursday deadline, the country’s Privatisation Commission said in a statement, confirming the interested companies reported by Bloomberg News earlier. Airblue Managing Director Aslam Chaudhary confirmed plans to participate in the sale of a 51% to 100% stake in Pakistan International Airlines to Bloomberg News. 

Habib said in a phone interview that he has teamed up with Fatima Fertilizer Ltd., Lake City and The City School. Tabba’s Lucky Cement Ltd. is bidding in a consortium including Hub Power Holdings, Kohat Cement Co. and Metro Group. Fauji Fertilizer Co. had announced its intentions before the deadline.

The sale of Pakistan’s national airline is a key part of an economic reform package designed to satisfy the International Monetary Fund to continue its loan program. The nation also plans to sell the Roosevelt Hotel in New York this year and power distribution companies by June 2026.

The final group includes Augment Securities and Investments Pvt., Serene Air Pvt., Bahria Foundation, Mega C&S Holding and Equitas Capital LLC, according to the statement. Another potential bidder is travel conglomerate Gerry’s Group, which is in advanced discussions to join an existing bidding group, Managing Director Akram Wali Muhammad said by phone.

“We are excited to see some of the strongest Pakistani business groups showing interest in acquisition of PIA” Privatisation Adviser Muhammad Ali told Bloomberg. “We will complete the bidders pre-qualification in the next week and due diligence from potential bidders will start in the first week of July.” 

The reference price and finer details of the transaction will be decided during negotiations with investors close to the final bidding, Ali said.

Pakistan’s first attempt to sell the loss-making carrier last year drew interest from many groups, but only one — Blue World City — made a final offer, which was much lower than the government’s minimum price of about $300 million.

Since then the government has made further changes to the transaction to spark more interest. It exempted the purchase of new aircraft from sales tax, reduced the airline’s debt levels and agreed to provide cover against some tax and litigation claims.