Fauji Foundation Pearl Continental deal: 19.7% stake for Rs6.55bn

Fauji Foundation now owns 19.7% of Pakistan Services Limited (PSEL), the company that owns and runs the Pearl-Continental hotel chain. The foundation bought 6,406,797 shares on Monday, 2 November, at Rs1,022.42 each, a deal worth about Rs6.55 billion, according to its disclosure to the Pakistan Stock Exchange on Tuesday.

That is why “Fauji Foundation Pearl Continental acquisition” was one of the top Google searches in Pakistan on Tuesday afternoon.

What exactly was filed?

Fauji Foundation sent a letter dated 2 November to Pakistan Services, the stock exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP). The letter was filed under Section 110 of the Securities Act, 2015, and the 2017 takeover regulations, which require anyone buying a large chunk of voting shares in a listed company to declare it publicly.

Pakistan Services told the exchange it had received the letter and asked for it to be made public. The filing says these 6.4 million shares are Fauji Foundation’s entire holding in the company.

How much did Fauji Foundation pay compared with others?

The price stands out. At Rs1,022.42 a share, Fauji Foundation paid about 44% more than the roughly Rs710 a share that Thatta Cement paid for its stake of about 28% in October 2025. AKD Group paid about Rs700 a share for its 27.95% stake in July 2025.

The filing does not say who sold the shares to Fauji Foundation.

The fight over PC hotels

Pakistan Services has been at the centre of an ownership battle for more than a year. The Hashwani Group, which has controlled the company since 1985, challenged the AKD and Thatta Cement purchases in court, and the dispute has been about control of roughly 56% of the voting shares.

In September, media reports said a possible out-of-court settlement could split the five PC hotels between Thatta Cement and Fauji Foundation, with Lahore, Bhurban and Muzaffarabad going to the foundation. Pakistan Services said at the time that it had no formal knowledge of any such plan, and no settlement has been announced. Tuesday’s filing is the first time Fauji Foundation has formally shown up on the share register.

Fauji Foundation is a charitable trust set up for former servicemen and their families. It already owns or controls big listed companies in fertiliser, cement, power and food, including Fauji Fertilizer, which was one of the biggest contributors to the KSE-100’s rise on Tuesday.

What it means

Pakistan Services runs Pearl-Continental hotels in cities including Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Bhurban, plus the Hotel One budget chain. For guests, nothing changes for now; the hotels keep running as before.

For shareholders, the open questions are whether Fauji Foundation keeps buying, crossing the level at which takeover rules require a public offer to other shareholders, and how the courts rule on the earlier share sales. Watch for the next PSX notices from Pakistan Services and any statement from the Hashwani Group.

This is information, not investment advice.