Saudi National Bank (SNB), the majority shareholder of Samba Bank Limited, has received a non-binding offer from Najd Gateway Holding Company to acquire its full stake in the Pakistan-based lender, the bank said Friday.

The disclosure was made in a notice to the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The proposed deal would involve SNB divesting its 100% stake in Samba Bank Limited, representing about 84.51% of the bank’s total shareholding.

Samba Bank said any move toward a transaction, including granting access for due diligence, would depend on internal reviews, regulatory approvals and the signing of definitive agreements.

The development comes a year after SNB backed out of an earlier plan to sell its stake in the Pakistani bank.

During the first nine months of this year, Samba Bank reported a profit after tax of PKR 472.4 million. This represents a 38.4% decline from the PKR 766.6 million profit recorded in the same period last year.

Earnings per share (EPS) for the period stood at PKR 0.47, down from PKR. 0.76 in 9MFY24.

The decline in profitability was primarily driven by a substantial contraction in the bank’s core income. Total income fell by 18.4% to PKR 5.72 billion, largely due to a 24.4% drop in net mark-up/interest income, which settled at PKR 4.31 billion. Both interest earned and interest expensed saw significant reductions of over 26%.