Deadline to bid for PIA extended to June 19
The government extended the deadline for submitting expressions of interest (EoIs) for purchasing the national flag carrier, PIA, by two weeks, the Privatisation Ministry said on Tuesday.
The ministry did not provide any reason for the extension of deadline from June 3 to June 19. It also did not disclose whether any EoI had been submitted so far for the sale of a 51 to 100% stake in the airlines.
The previous attempt to privatise the debt-ridden airline failed last year when a single bid was received that was well below the asking price of more than $300 million. In April, the airline reported its first annual profit in more than two decades
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
16 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Second PIA privatisation effort moves ahead with five bidders
Listen to article The government's renewed push to privatise Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has drawn interest from eight parties, with five formally submitting pre-qualification documents ahead of Thursday's deadline, the Privatisation Commission confirmed. Among those to file documentation is a consortium comprising Lucky Cement, Hub Power Company, Kohat Cement, and Metro Ventures. A separate group including Arif Habib Corporation, Fatima Fertilizer, The City School, and Lake City Holdings has also expressed interest in acquiring a majority stake in the loss-making national carrier. Airblue and Fauji Fertilizer Company have submitted their documents independently, while expressions of interest were also received from Augment Securities, Serene Air, Bahria Foundation, Mega Holdings, and Equitas, who have indicated joint intent to participate. Read More: Deadline to bid for PIA extended to June 19 Of the eight interested parties, five met the June 19 submission deadline for pre-qualification. These entities will now be granted access to a virtual data room as part of the next phase of due diligence. The commission said that all submissions will be assessed against pre-defined eligibility and financial criteria. Buy-side due diligence has already commenced, with officials optimistic that the process may attract credible bidders in contrast to previous attempts. This marks the government's second attempt at privatising PIA after a failed bid last year. A 2024 auction had attracted just one bid — Rs10 billion ($36 million) from real estate developer Blue World City for a 60 per cent stake. The offer fell well below the government's floor price of Rs85 billion ($305 million) and was subsequently rejected. Also Read: Govt tightens PIA bidding terms This year, the Privatisation Commission reopened the process in April, inviting expressions of interest from both domestic and international investors for a majority stake ranging from 51 to 100 per cent in PIA. The initial deadline of June 3, 2025 was later extended to June 19 to accommodate prospective buyers. In an effort to ensure only financially viable parties move forward, the government introduced stricter qualification criteria for this round and explicitly barred provincial governments from participating in the bidding. The sale of PIA is expected to be Pakistan's first major privatisation in nearly two decades. Reviving loss-making state-owned enterprises such as PIA is a key structural benchmark under the country's ongoing $7 billion bailout programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
PIA sell-off: Fauji Fertilizer, Air Blue, and 3 consortiums submit Statements of Qualification
As Pakistan government proceeds with a fresh attempt to privatise the Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), Fauji Fertilizer, Air Blue, and 3 consortiums have submitted the Statements of Qualification (SOQs), showing their interest in acquiring a stake in the national carrier. The development comes as the deadline to submit SoQs for having 51% to 100% share capital of the Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL) ended on Thursday. The Privatisation Commission (PC) received Expressions of Interest (EOI) from eight interested parties and five of them submitted SOQs by the deadline. The five interested parties include: Consortium comprising Lucky Cement Limited, Hub Power Holdings Limited, Kohat Cement Company Limited and Metro Ventures (Private) Limited Consortium comprising of Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited, City Schools (Private) Limited and Lake City Holdings (Private) Limited Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited Air Blue Consortium comprising Augment Securities & Investments (Private) Limited and Serene Air (Private) Limited, Bahria Foundation, Mega C&S Holding, Equitas Capital LLC 'The SOQs submitted by the parties will be evaluated by the Privatisation Commission against the prequalification criteria and the prequalified parties will proceed to the next stage where they will be given access to the virtual data room to undertake buy-side due diligence,' the PC said. The government restarted the PIA sale process with fresh EOI call in April this year, marking a renewed effort to offload its stake in the national carrier. It first set June 3 as deadline for EOI submission, but later extended it till June 19, with all terms and conditions remaining the same. It has been seeking to sell a 51-100% stake in the debt-ridden carrier, to raise funds and reform cash-draining state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme (IMF). The government failed in the first attempt to privatise the PIA last year after receiving a single offer, well below the asking price of more than $300 million. Blue World City consortium refused to match the minimum expectation of the Privatisation Commission of Rs85.03 billion and stuck to its original offer of Rs10 billion for a 60% stake in the PIA, ending the bidding process of the national flag carrier's privatisation. With its plan to privatise a number of entities, the government has missed a modest target of collecting Rs30 billion through privatisation proceeds in the outgoing financial year 2024-25.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
Airblue, Gerry's Group among bidders for PIA as EoI deadline ends today: Bloomberg
The sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), the national flag carrier, has drawn interest from several parties, including Airblue Ltd. and travel conglomerate Gerry's Group, reported Bloomberg on Thursday. As per the report, Airblue Managing Director Aslam Chaudhary and Gerry's Group Managing Director Akram Wali Muhammad both confirmed their plans to participate in the sale of a 51% to 100% stake in PIA. Moreover, prominent businessmen Muhammad Ali Tabba and Arif Habib have formed separate consortia to bid for the airline. Habib told Bloomberg that he has teamed up with Fatima Fertilizer Ltd., Lake City and The City School. Meanwhile, Yunus Brothers Group, another prominent business conglomerate of Pakistan, is bidding in a consortium including Mega Group, Kohat Cement Co. and Metro Group, Bloomberg said. The deadline for submitting Expressions of Interest (EoI) for up to a 100% stake in PIA is today (Thursday). The government has extended the deadline to submit an Expression of Interest (EoI) for the acquisition of Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIACL) until June 19, 2025, from the earlier deadline of June 3, with all terms and conditions remaining the same. PIACL, a public limited company, is the flag carrier airline of Pakistan. The Government of Pakistan (GOP), through PIA Holding Company Limited, owns approximately 96% of the issued capital of PIA. The government has been seeking to sell a 51-100% stake in the debt-ridden carrier to raise funds and reform cash-draining, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) as envisaged under a $7 billion International Monetary Fund programme (IMF). It failed in the first attempt to privatise the PIA last year after receiving a single offer, well below the asking price of more than $300 million. Blue World City consortium refused to match the minimum expectation of the Privatisation Commission of Rs85.03 billion and stuck to its original offer of Rs10 billion for a 60% stake in the PIA, ending the bidding process of the national flag carrier's privatisation. Days ago, Fauji Fertilizer Company Limited (FFC), one of Pakistan's largest fertiliser manufacturers, formally expressed interest in acquiring shares of PIA.
