Initial Bidders Line Up for Majority Stake in Pakistan International Airlines

Tycoon Arif Habib and Gerry’s Group are among the initial ten bidders seeking to purchase a majority stake in state-owned Pakistan International Airlines.

Habib and Gerry’s Managing Director Akram Wali Muhammad confirmed that they’ve submitted bids for the carrier in messages sent to Bloomberg. Three private-sector airlines operating on domestic routes have also bid, privatization minister Abdul Aleem Khan said in a briefing earlier without disclosing the exact names.

The planned stake sale is a step toward the government’s commitment to undertake economic reforms in exchange for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who returned to power in March, has said it’s no longer sustainable to prop up the money-losing carrier each year with taxpayer funds.

Pakistan’s state-owned airline has become more attractive after the government said it would not pass on roughly three quarters of the carrier’s debt to the eventual buyer, said Khan. Pakistan is looking to sell between 51% and 100% of the carrier, which has failed to turn an annual profit in nearly two decades.

The nation’s privatization commission has extended the deadline to submit letters of intent until May 18. Potential suitors had requested more time for due diligence and to coordinate with international companies on potential bids, Khan said.