Hayleys mandatory offer for Harischandra Mills ends with minimal acceptance

Hayleys PLC announced that its mandatory offer to acquire the remaining shares of Harischandra Mills PLC (HMP) concluded on December 30, 2025, with minimal acceptance from shareholders.

According to disclosures filed with the Colombo Stock Exchange, the conglomerate received valid acceptances for only 1,080 shares, representing a mere 0.06 percent of the shares in issue.

Following the conclusion of the offer, Hayleys PLC now holds a total of 780,026 ordinary voting shares, constituting a 40.64 percent stake in Harischandra Mills PLC. This represents a fractional increase from the 40.58 percent stake (778,946 shares) held by the company prior to the offer period.

The mandatory offer was made at a price of Rs. 3,300 per share. However, the last traded price stood at Rs.5090.25 per share.

The offer closing date, originally scheduled for December 16, was extended to December 30 following a directive from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka (SEC). The extension was granted to provide shareholders with sufficient time to consider the Independent Advisor’s Report and the views of the Board of Directors, which were dispatched to shareholders on December 15, 2025.

According to the interim financial statements filed for the period ended September 30, 2025, immediately prior to the Hayleys acquisition, the company’s shareholding structure was concentrated among a few key investors. At that time, the largest stake was held by Sampath Bank PLC/Senthilverl Holdings (Pvt) Ltd with 40.60 percent, which was subsequently sold to Hayleys. Other major shareholders included Upeka de Silva with 14.95 percent, Chitra Padmini Rodrigo with 14.53 percent, N.T. Samarasinghe with 13.90 percent, and Senaka Nilkantha Samarasinghe with 3.99 percent. (NF)