December 23, 2025 (MLN): Arif Habib has won the auction for 75% shares of  Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (PIAC) with a successful bid of Rs135bn.

This came through after the privatisation process moved into an open auction round.

Bids were submitted by Lucky Cement, private airline Airblue and  Arif Habib Limited.

During the opening round of bidding, Lucky Cement offered Rs101.5 bn, while Airblue submitted a bid of Rs26.5 bn.

Arif Habib topped the round with an offer of Rs115 bn, during the widely anticipated auction which aired live from Islamabad.

After a 30-minute recess, in the subsequent round, Lucky Cement increased its offer to Rs134 billion.

Arif Habib then countered with a Rs135 bn bid, and ended up snatching the win.

The live process, broadcast for transparency, provided real-time updates as each bid was submitted.

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