ISLAMABAD: The Privatisation Commission (PC) on Tuesday approved the sale of National Power Construction Company (NPCC) for Rs2.49billion, with the sale expected to be completed in 45 days.

The national entity will be taken over by Mansour Al Mosaid, a Saudi business group, whose offer was 26.9 per cent higher than the minimum price set for NPCC.

“I am pleased to inform that the PC has accepted the bid of the Saudi group today. The presence of a member from the Saudi Royal family, along with other senior officials of the said company was reassuring,” said Mohammad Zubair, chairman of PC.

Mansour Al Mosaid Company of Saudi Arabia submitted the highest bid of Rs 1420 per share which is 26.9pc higher than the CCoP approved Reference Price of Rs 1119 per share.

The other two bidders were the consortium of Habib Rafiq Ltd and Frontier Works Organisation, and the consortium of Zahir Khan Brothers and Reliable Engineers Services Pvt Ltd Pakistan which offered Rs 925 and Rs 344.5 per share respectively.

Read: Divestment structure of NPCC okayed

The Cabinet Committee on Privatisation (CCoP) on Tuesday approved the minimum reference price, about 12 per cent higher than the price recommended by financial advisers (MCB Bank and United Bank Limited) for the government’s majority 1.76 million shares that make 88pc of the company's stock – the remaining 12pc shares are owned by the company’s employees under the Benazir Employees Stock Option Scheme.

CCoP, which is headed by Finance Minister Ishaq Dar, had approved the revised reference price that had been suggested by the PC for the present government’s first strategic sale.

Ishaq Dar congratulated the chairman of PC and all the members of his team for conducting the whole process fully in accordance with the laid out rules and procedures.

He also appreciated the NPCC officials for according full cooperation to the PC for carrying out the divestment process.

The NPCC has remained a profitable entity for the last many years; its balance sheet has remained debt free, giving significant room to prospective buyers to raise finances from banks for further expansion.

Earlier in February, CCoP had approved the transaction structure for the divestment of NPCC in a meeting chaired by Dar.

NPCC was established in 1974 by the Government of Pakistan under the Federal Ministry of Water and Power with the special objective of executing power engineering projects speedily and economically, not only at home but also in other friendly countries.

NPCC is fully equipped to undertake speedy execution of power projects on a turnkey basis.