Shanghai Electric withdraws KE bid

KARACHI: Shanghai Electric Power Company Limited has withdrawn its bid to acquire a majority stake in K-Electric Limited, according to a notice issued by Arif Habib Limited, the manager of the offer, to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday.

The Chinese power company had intended to acquire up to 18.336 billion ordinary shares of K-Electric, representing 66.4 percent of the total issued share capital.

The deadline for the public announcement of the offer, which had been extended by the acquirer, expired on April 20, 2024. The offer was withdrawn due to certain regulatory and other approvals for the transaction remaining outstanding.

"We, Arif Habib Limited, in our capacity as Manager to the Offer, would like to intimate that the time period for making the public announcement of the offer (as extended by the acquirer) lapsed on April 20, 2024 (“expiry date”) as certain regulatory and other approvals for the transaction remain outstanding,” the Arif Habib Limited said. “We hereby give notice that as of the expiry date, the PAI stands withdrawn.”

Arif Habib Limited further stated that the withdrawal process is being undertaken to ensure compliance with the law.The Public Announcement of Intention (PAI) to acquire a majority shareholding in K-Electric was initially published on July 25, 2023.