A Pakistan Stock Exchange official said on Thursday a consortium consisting of the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange has offered 28 rupees ($0.2672) per share to buy a 40 percent stake.
“All I can say … is the Chinese consortium is the top bidder,” PSX Managing Director Nadeem Naqvi told Reuters on Thursday ahead of an official announcement of the bids.
He said 40 percent of the Karachi-based stock exchange represents 320 million shares. That would make the potential deal worth 8.96 billion ($85.5 million)
Earlier, at least 17 parties submitted expressions of interest for the acquisition, Naqvi said. He would not say how many had made formal bids.
Pakistan’s stock exchange has been one of Asia’s best performing for several years and was recently approved to be restored to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, giving it a wider range of potential investors than as a Frontier Market. (Reuters)
