KARACHI, Jan 9: Saudi Pak Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company Limited (SAPICO) has agreed to sell 68 per cent of Saudi Pak Commercial Bank to an international consortium comprising Bank Muscat, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Nomura European Investment Limited.

A share purchase agreement between SAPICO and the consortium was signed on January 4, 2008, a press release said on Wednesday.

Under the agreement the buyers would pay a price of Rs29.30 per share for 340,154,091 shares, for a total consideration of Rs9.967 billion ($163m). BMA Capital Management and Mandviwalla & Zafar are the lead advisors to SAPICO on this transaction.

From a valuation perspective, the sale was achieved at a premium to recent banking sector transactions. The price to book value ratio (P/BV) based on the agreed price comes to 3.5 (using the June 2007 figure for book value).

“We proudly announce the sale of our controlling stake in Saudi Pak Commercial Bank, which represents another successful exit from an investment made by SAPICO, generating a healthy return for our shareholders,” SAPICO chief executive Rashid Zahir said on the occasion.—PPI