Pakistan Refinery zooms in on Shell Pakistan
Business
Partners with Air Link Communication for the bid
KARACHI (Web Desk) – The Pakistan State Oil (PSO) currently enjoys over 50 per cent market share that might get even larger if Pakistan Refinery Ltd (PRL) and Air Link Communication Ltd succeed in their bid to acquire major shareholding and thus the control of Shell Pakistan Ltd.
With 63.5pc shareholding in PRL, the PSO would be able to absorb the country’s third largest oil marketing company – with around 8pc share in the market.
According to reports, PRL and Air Link want 77.42pc stake in the Shell Pakistan which the parent company Shell Plc put on sale in June, which decided to go for broader restricting amid tough competition and poor returns when it comes to retail business.
Read more: Shell Plc's decision to leave Pakistan is part of broader overhaul, not country specific
Earlier, Shell had decided to exit its home retail energy businesses in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands due to their poor returns.
The current share price of Shell Pakistan is Rs112.61 (as of 10:15am on June 18), meaning that the shareholding on offer in the OMC is around Rs19 billion.
Meanwhile, the surprising element of the bid is Air Link’s decision to move into the energy sector given it is distributor, manufacturer and retailer of smartphones.
