ISLAMABAD: A UK-based company, Prax Overseas Holdings Limited (Prax), intends to acquire a majority stake and control of Shell Pakistan Limited (SPL).
AKD Securities Limited, a brokerage firm assigned to act as the offer’s manager, informed the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in a notice about the situation on Monday.
In the notice, AKD Securities Limited states, “We, AKD Securities Limited, have been appointed as the manager to the offer by Prax Overseas Holdings Limited, following regulation 6(1) of the Listed Companies (Substantial Acquisition of Voting Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2017. On behalf of the acquirer, we are pleased to submit a Public Announcement of Intention to acquire up to 77.4296% of the issued and paid-up share capital and control of Shell Pakistan Limited.”
Prax Group, a British multinational headquartered in London, is a global energy conglomerate specializing in biofuels, crude oil, and petroleum products.
According to Bloomberg, Saudi Aramco is reportedly considering bidding for Shell Plc’s assets in Pakistan, signaling a potential entrance into the South Asian nation.
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Sources familiar with the matter revealed that Aramco is currently evaluating the Shell assets, including Shell Pakistan Ltd., which is listed on the Karachi stock exchange and holds an approximate market value of $123 million. These insiders, who preferred to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the information, mentioned that the Pakistani assets under consideration could carry an estimated transaction value of approximately $200 million.
Previously, Shell Pakistan Limited had disclosed that its parent company, Shell Petroleum Company Limited (SPCo), intended to divest its shareholding in SPL. Notably, this development was clarified to have no impact on SPL’s ongoing business operations.
Although the specific volume of shareholding to be sold by SPCo was not disclosed in the announcement, the annual report for the year ending December 31, 2022, indicated that SPCo held a 77.42% stake in SPL, equivalent to slightly over 165.7 million shares.
In a related move, Pakistan Refinery Limited (PRL) and Air Link Communication (AIRLINK) jointly expressed their interest in acquiring the majority stake and control of Shell Pakistan Limited in July.
