Fauji Foundation Buys 19.7% Stake in Pearl Continental Owner for Rs6.55 Billion
Photo: Business Recorder (file photo of a Pearl Continental hotel)
Fauji Foundation has bought a 19.7 percent stake in Pakistan Services Limited, the company that owns and runs the Pearl Continental hotel chain, for about Rs6.55 billion. The deal, disclosed to the stock exchange on Tuesday, makes the foundation a major new shareholder in one of Pakistan's best known hotel groups.
Pakistan Services told the Pakistan Stock Exchange that Fauji Foundation bought 6,406,797 voting shares on 2 November at Rs1,022.42 each. Business Recorder reported that the purchase takes the foundation's total holding to 19.7 percent of the company's voting shares, and that it is the foundation's entire disclosed holding in the company.
The disclosure was filed under Section 110 of the Securities Act, 2015, and the takeover rules for listed companies. Pakistan Services also told the exchange it had received Fauji Foundation's letter dated 2 November, and the foundation notified the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan as well.
The price stands out. Profit reported that Fauji Foundation paid about 44 percent more per share than Thatta Cement, which bought a roughly 28 percent stake in October 2025 at Rs710 a share, and about 46 percent more than the Rs700 paid by AKD Group linked buyers in July 2025.
Here is how the big recent stakes compare:
- AKD Group and related parties, July 2025: 27.95 percent at Rs700 a share, over Rs6.36 billion
- Thatta Cement, October 2025: around 28 percent at Rs710 a share, around Rs6.47 billion
- Fauji Foundation, November 2026: 19.7 percent at Rs1,022.42 a share, around Rs6.55 billion
The deal lands in the middle of a long ownership fight. Pakistan Services, set up in 1958, owns and manages the Pearl Continental chain, plus Pearl Continental Residences and Hotel One, and it franchises the Pearl Continental name. Control of about 56 percent of its voting shares has been disputed since the AKD and Thatta Cement purchases, with the Hashwani Group, which took over the company in 1985, challenging those deals in court.
In September 2026, reports said Thatta Cement and Fauji Foundation had reached an initial understanding on restructuring the company to settle the matter before the Islamabad High Court, possibly by dividing five Pearl Continental properties between them. Pakistan Services said at the time that it had no formal knowledge of such a plan. ProPakistani reported that the new disclosure does not by itself settle that dispute, but it puts Fauji Foundation firmly inside the ownership picture.
What this means for ordinary Pakistanis is simple. Pearl Continental hotels are a familiar sight in every major city, and a shake up in who owns them can shape room prices, jobs and investment in hotels over time. For stock market watchers, the high price Fauji Foundation paid is itself a signal: it values the hotel business well above what earlier buyers paid.
The deal also comes as business news dominates the week, from refineries pushing back on the petrol pricing deal to today's one day petrol price cut and the prime minister telling banks to speed up loans.
Sources
Profit: Fauji Foundation acquires PSEL stake for Rs6.55 billion
Watch for Pakistan Services' next filing to the stock exchange, and for any court update on the ownership dispute.
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