ISLAMABAD: Sitara Petroleum Services Ltd., a fuel station operator and logistics provider, plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) next month to raise up to Rs3.2 billion ($11.4 million) for business expansion.
According to Bloomberg, Arif Habib Ltd.’s CEO Shahid Ali Habib, whose firm is leading the transaction, said the listing could be the second-largest in Pakistan over the past four years.
The IPO comes amid a strong rally in Pakistan’s stock market, with the KSE-100 Index rising more than 61% in the past year — the best performance in Asia — encouraging companies to tap capital markets.
Ahead of the public offer, Sitara secured Rs1.66 billion in a pre-IPO placement from institutional investors, including Bank Alfalah and Lucky Investments, at a 10% premium to the floor price. Shares are being offered at a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.2x, which Habib described as significantly lower than the average valuation of oil marketing firms in Pakistan.
Founded in 2012, Sitara is closely linked with Gas & Oil Pakistan Ltd. (GO), backed by Saudi Aramco, and operates 61 fuel stations mainly in Punjab along with a fleet of 320 oil tankers. The funds raised will be used to build a 30,000-ton oil storage terminal in Gatti, Faisalabad, helping the company pursue an oil marketing license by FY2028.
Sitara also plans to add at least 47 new fuel stations and purchase 50 more tankers to strengthen its distribution network.
