Singapore’s Group Lease to acquire 29.9% of Commercial Credit for Rs.10.6bn

Singapore-based Group Lease Holdings (GLH) is to acquire a 29.99 percent stake in Sri Lanka’s Commercial Credit and Finance PLC (CCF) for a total consideration of Rs.10.6 billion.

According to a disclosure made by Group Lease Public Company Limited, the parent of GLH, to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the purchase of 95.4 million CCF shares will be made at Rs.111 per share. The CCF shares yesterday closed at Rs.54.10, up Rs.1.40. The group net asset value per share as at June 30, 2016 stood at Rs.27.24. The asset base stood at Rs.75.2 billion. The disclosure said GL will buy the CCF shares from BG Investments (Private) Limited, Creation Investments Sri Lanka LLC and Stephen L. Lafrance Jr.

Prior to the envisaged acquisition of shares by GLH, the BG group of companies, controlled by CCF CEO Roshan Egodage, held 58.44 percent of CCF, while Creation Investments held 28.66 percent and L. Lafrance Jr. held 0.74 percent.

Subsequent to the transaction, the BG group companies and Creation Investments will hold 51.47 percent and 6.4 percent of CCF, respectively.

The acquisition will not trigger a mandatory offer as per the SEC’S Takeovers and Mergers Code, as the acquisition remains less than 30 percent of the issued shares of CCF.

CCF in a filing to the Colombo Stock Exchange said it also entered into a share sale agreement with GLH to sell its 28.1 percent stake in BG Myanmar Microfinance Company Ltd for a consideration of Rs.52.9 million.egodage-controlled BG group of companies earlier divested their 71.9 percent stake in BG Myanmar Microfinance Company Ltd to Group Lease Public Company Limited for an undisclosed amount.

CCF Non-executive Director Patrick Fisher also serves on the board of Group Lease Public Company Limited.