The privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines has entered its decisive stage after the Arif Habib consortium emerged as the successful bidder, securing a 75 percent stake in the national carrier with a final offer of Rs135billion. During an intense series of incremental offers, Lucky Cement raised its bid to Rs115.5 billion, prompting Arif Habib to counter with Rs116 billion. Earlier, in the first phase of the privatisation process, three pre-qualified bidders had submitted sealed offers for the airline. Two of them, Arif Habib and Lucky Cement, submitted bids exceeding the government’s reference price of Rs100 billion, while Air Blue (Private) Limited offered Rs26.5 billion. He described the sale as a major milestone, noting that Pakistan had not completed a large-scale privatisation transaction in nearly two decades.

Source: The Patriot December 24, 2025 08:46 UTC