Minority Shareholders move to take Expolanka’s 63 Billion Offer

ExpoLanka Holdings rattled the Colombo Stock Exchange fraternity with its announcement recently to file for delisting from Sri Lanka’s main board, the Colombo Stock Exchange. Once a counter that soared in the high 400s, ExpoLanka was arguably one of the most promising counters that was rallied by shareholders and stock brokers alike.

With the initial announcement made last week, with a premium buy back offer from the main shareholder SG Holdings Global Pte Ltd that owns 82.4%, a much sorted debate made headlines as to whether the buyback offer of 185 LKR per share was indeed acceptable by the 20 000+ minority shareholders that own close to 7% of the current floated stock of Expolanka Holdings.

With the confirmed exit of the founder and livewire of Hanif Yusuf, CEO and President of Expolanka, the majority shareholders SG Holdings will embrace 90% control of the company. However in a background of this, many online surveys and polls on social media showcased that the minority shareholders were either indecisive of the matter or were seeking a better price than the already offered 185 LKR per share price.

With SG Holdings, the Japanese majority shareholder reconfirming shortly that the 185 LKR per share price is a full and final offer and will not be considered for any revisions going further and with multiple individual analysis showcasing that the offered price was well above the actual value of the share, the sentiment of the market has now shifted towards accepting the said offer and proceeding for the delisting.

While the KPMG valuation done for the company also showcased that the offer price was indeed carrying a premium, multiple individual analysis showcased that the aftermath of the counter in the event that the offer was not accepted would be a bloodbath. The counter last traded around 150 LKR per share before the announcement of the delisting and the opinion of many stockbrokers was that the price soared due to the fact it was known that a delisting was indeed around the corner.

While it remained as such, Independent analysis which was released today showcased that closer to around 20% of the minority shareholders who initially opposed the buyback offer has now shifted their opinion in light of the recent information. While a surge of interest is recorded, it is believed within the market that the minority shareholders will graciously accept the 63 Billion LKR offer as such an inflow of foreign buy-in will also initiate another bull run within the market itself.