Business Desk 
Nov 15, 2024
In a series of acquisition fallbacks unfolding in the realm of Pakistan's businesses, Bank Alfalah Limited (BAFL) has withdrawn its public announcement of intention (PAI) to acquire a majority stake in Samba Bank Limited.
The announcement of the withdrawal was brought to light in a notice BAFL issued to the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Thursday, validating the withdrawal of its PAI.
“The Saudi National Bank has terminated the process for the sale of its equity stake in Samba Pakistan. Consequently, Arif Habib Limited, as manager to the offer, on behalf of BAFL, has submitted the withdrawal of BAFL’s earlier public announcement of intention to acquire SNB’s shareholding in Samba,” the notice stated.
The BAFL cancellation comes over the heels of Saudi National Bank (SNB) dropping plans to sell its majority stake to Samba Bank.
The News reported that the buyer was previously granted in-principle approval from the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to conduct due diligence on Samba Bank to proceed with the proposal of buying SNB’s shares.
It is believed that BAFL was prompted to retract securing the biggest chunk of Samba Bank equity only after SNB reversed its intent on divesting its major stake to Samba Bank.
