PIA Shares Restructuring Plan Ahead of Shareholder Meeting

Pakistan International Airlines Corp Limited (PIAA) has revealed plans for restructuring and its shareholders will vote on this proposal at an Extraordinary General Meeting on April 20th, 2024, in Karachi.

The scheme involves splitting the business into two parts: the Core Undertaking (PIA) and the Non-Core Undertaking (Holdco). The latter will encompass non-aviation assets like hospitality and real estate, transforming into PIA Holding Company Limited (Holdco).

Existing shareholders’ interests will be preserved through an exchange of their PIAA equity for fresh shares in the holding company, maintaining their ownership percentage.

The objective of this move is to stabilize PIA financially, requiring significant capital infusion over the next five years. It also sets the stage for PIA’s restructuring as a subsidiary of Holdco, facilitating the privatization process to attract a strategic partner.

Financially, pre-split assets amounted to Rs. 171 billion as of September 2023, with Rs. 147 billion for the
Core Undertaking and Rs. 25 billion for the Non-Core Undertaking. Shareholders’ equity in PIAA will be replaced with holding company shares, while liabilities are split with Rs. 629 billion attributed to the non-core segment and Rs. 202 billion to the core undertaking.

Currently, PIA’s net equity is at Rs. 659 billion, with the core undertaking projected to have Rs. 56 billion post-restructuring, while the remaining Rs. 604 billion will be transferred to a holding company.

The approval of the scheme will be subject to sanction by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

Source: ProPakistani