Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL), one of Pakistan’s major commercial banks, has withdrawn its public announcement of intention (PAI) to acquire a majority stake in Samba Bank Limited.
This decision follows Saudi National Bank’s (SNB) move to terminate its plans to divest its stake in Samba Pakistan.
“The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) had granted BAFL in-principle approval to conduct due diligence on Samba for the proposed acquisition of SNB’s approximately 84.51% ordinary shares in the bank.”
“However, SNB has terminated the process for the sale of SNB’s equity stake in Samba. Consequently, Arif Habib Limited, as Manager to the Offer, on behalf of BAFL, has submitted the withdrawal of BAFL’s earlier public announcement of intention to acquire SNB’s shareholding in Samba,” BAFL said in a notice provided to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday.
The PSX has been requested to inform the TRE Certificate Holders of the Exchange accordingly.
On November 12, 2024, Samba Bank notified the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) that Saudi National Bank (SNB), its majority shareholder, has decided to halt the sale of its equity stake in the bank.
Earlier in April, Bank Alfalah had submitted a Public Announcement of Intention (PAI) to acquire a majority stake in Samba Bank Limited.
Following this, in May, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) granted approval for Bank Alfalah to conduct due diligence on Samba Bank.
Previously, in 2021, Samba Bank received a firm acquisition proposal from a consortium consisting of Samba Bank’s management, Fatima Fertilizer Company Limited, and Gulf Islamic Investment LLC, aiming to acquire control of 852.040 million voting shares, representing 84.51% of the bank’s paid-up capital.
