15 December 2016 12:05 am
The Richard Peiris group’s financial arm, Richard Pieris Finance Limited (RPFL), has been granted approval to move ahead with the amalgamation of Chilaw Finance PLC by end-March 2017, a filing with the Colombo Stock Exchange said yesterday.
The Central Bank had given its approval for the move last week—dependent on RPFL following all the relevant statutes—and approval from the Chilaw Finance (CFP) director board—under the control of RPFL—was received yesterday.
RPFL will take over all the assets and liabilities of CFP, which will cease to exist.
The deal had been initiated under the financial sector consolidation plan 2014 of the former regime, which sought to forcibly consolidate the financial landscape, which was discontinued by the incumbent government in favour of voluntary mergers and amalgamations. However, RPFL had purchased 81.77 percent of the shares of CFP for Rs.26.50 a share in 2014, before the change in government.Due to the Company Takeovers and Mergers Code, RPFL was obligated to present a mandatory offer to purchase all remaining shares of CFP held by other shareholders, which resulted in RPFL owning 90.09 percent of the shares.