ISLAMABAD: The bidding for the privatisation of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is scheduled for today (Thursday), with reports suggesting that only one of the six pre-qualified bidders has submitted the required earnest money to participate in the process.
The Privatisation Commission had initially pre-qualified six bidders, including Fly Jinnah, a consortium led by YB Holdings (Pvt) Ltd, Airblue Ltd, a consortium led by Pak Ethanol (Pvt) Ltd, Arif Habib Corporation Ltd, and Blue World City.
After extensive review, the board of the Privatisation Commission shortlisted these companies based on technical, financial and documentary requirements, inviting them to proceed with the next stage of the bidding process to start buy-side due diligence.
The successful bidder will be eligible to acquire between 51pc and 100pc of PIA’s share capital, along with management control.
PIA, a public limited company and national flag carrier, is largely government-owned, with the government holding about 96pc of its issued capital. Privatisation Secretary Usman Akhtar Bajwa was unavailable to confirm the exact number of bidders participating in the process.
As a full-service airline, PIA operates in various business segments, including passenger services, ground handling, flight training, cargo, engineering and in-flight catering.
Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2024
