Sri Lanka’s Aberdeen Holdings divests 5% stake at Expack Corrugated Cartons.
The Morning: Aberdeen Holdings, a diversified conglomerate based in Sri Lanka, has sold 5% of its stake in Expack Corrugated Cartons PLC for Rs. 282.5 million, with a total of 16.6 million shares changing hands via 118 trades.
Aberdeen Holdings Chief Financial Officer Chathuranga Abeyratne stated that this recent divestment of 5%, as well as its previous divestment of 5% of Aberdeen’s Expack stake earlier in September, was a two-phased investment decision to manage its pool of diverse investments. The company stated it is excited about the prospects of Expack and its subsidiary Neptune, which are amongst the market leaders in the industries they operate in, and added that it has no intentions to divest its stake any further.
The sale of Expack shares comes in the form of a strategic rebalancing of the investment portfolio of Aberdeen Holdings. The company foresees that the divestment of shares would give more opportunity for public participation in the Expack shares, a share which had a record-breaking oversubscription by 11 times during the Initial Public Offering (IPO) in October 2021.
Aberdeen Holdings has been and continues to be the majority shareholder of Expack since the latter’s IPO in October 2021. Aberdeen Holdings currently holds a 65% stake in Expack Corrugated Cartons PLC, amounting to a total of 216.7 million shares, with the current public float being at 35% after this latest divestment.
OSL take:
Sri Lanka’s private sector has shown impressive growth rates and impressive profits despite facing challenging economic conditions. This is indicative of the strength and growth of Sri Lanka’s private sector. Sri Lanka is working towards becoming an emerging business destination in the South Asian region supported by the country’s geographical positioning in the Indian Ocean and the strong trade ties enjoyed by the country. These moves have helped develop a business conducive environment in Sri Lanka while local authorities have taken many steps to introduce incentives to promote the expansion of key economic sectors and businesses. It is interesting to note that many local businesses have been engaged in expansion programmes as well as product diversification amidst economic challenges portraying the overall resilience of the Sri Lankan economy. Foreign businesses/investors could explore the growing business/investment opportunities while also looking at forming partnerships or joint ventures with local businesses.
| Article Code : | VBS/AT/06102022/X_4 |