KARACHI: Bank Alfalah Ltd (BAFL) on Monday announced its intention to acquire a majority stake in Samba Bank Ltd.

The BAFL shared this information through a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX).

“We would like to inform that Arif Habib Ltd, manager to the offer, has submitted the public announcement of intention to acquire up to 84.51 per cent shares of the target company, held by Saudi National Bank, on behalf of the acquirer, in accordance with the said provisions of the Securities Act 2015 and the Listed Companies (Substantial Acquisition of Voting Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2017,” read the notice.

The BAFL announced its intention to acquire Samba Bank a month earlier. Arab investment in Pakistan’s banking sector has been rising for several years. Bank Alfalah’s consolidated profit after tax surged 96pc to Rs36.09 billion in 2023.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2024