ATX Partners and Arcasia Investment launch mandatory offer for Alpha Fire Services

ATX Partners (Private) Limited and Arcasia Investment and Trading (Private) Limited have announced a mandatory offer to purchase the remaining shares of Alpha Fire Services PLC, after acquiring a majority stake in the company, according to a stock filing.

The offer price is set at Rs.10 per share.

The move was triggered after the two firms, acting in concert with JBJ Holdings, collectively purchased 22,135,070 ordinary shares of Alpha Fire Services on June 2, 2025. This transaction was executed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, at a price of Rs.10 per share.

On June 2, Alpha Fire Services saw a significant shift in its shareholding. ATX Partners acquired 9,492,610 shares through a margin trading arrangement with DFCC Bank PLC, while Arcasia Investment and Trading purchased an equal number of shares (9,492,610) via a similar arrangement with Seylan Bank PLC. Additionally, JBJ Holdings bought 3,149,850 shares.

Prior to this transaction, Arcasia Investment and Trading held 687,303 shares (approximately 1.81 percent), with ATX Partners and JBJ Holdings having no prior stake in Alpha Fire Services.

Following these acquisitions, the combined shareholding of ATX Partners, Arcasia Investment and JBJ Holdings reached 22,822,373 shares, representing a 60.14 percent stake in the company. The updated individual shareholdings are: Arcasia Investment and Trading now holds 10,179,913 shares (26.8245 percent), ATX Partners holds 9,492,610 shares (25.0135 percent) and JBJ Holdings holds 3,149,850 shares (8.3 percent).

Under Rule 31(1)(a) of the Company Takeovers and Mergers Code, this collective acquisition has made it obligatory for the offerors to extend a mandatory offer to the remaining shareholders.

The offer targets the remaining 15,127,627 ordinary shares, which represent 39.87 percent of the total issued shares of Alpha Fire Services. The offer will be unconditional as to acceptances, meaning the offerors must purchase all shares tendered at the Rs.10 offer price. The shares acquired must be free from any liens or encumbrances.

The offerors, ATX Partners and Arcasia Investment and Trading, are both Sri Lankan registered private limited companies engaged in retail trade and investment management, respectively. JBJ Holdings is an investment holding company incorporated in the Cayman Islands.

A detailed offer document is scheduled to be sent to the board of directors and all shareholders of Alpha Fire Services within 35 days. The announcement was made on behalf of the boards of the offeror companies and signed by the directors, including Asanth Shamil Sebastian and Sharad Sridharan.