Melwa Hotels & Resorts (Pvt) Ltd has been announced as the only prequalified company to have put forward a bid for the divestiture of the shares held by the Government of Sri Lanka in Hotel Developers (Lanka) Ltd (HDL), the owning company of the Colombo Hilton. 

According to the State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit, the government acting through the Ministry of Finance in October 2023 called for an Expression of Interest (EoI) from interested parties for the divestiture of the shares held by the government in HDL. 

Nine responses were received and after evaluation by the Cabinet-appointed Special Project Committee (SPC) and the Special Cabinet-Appointed Negotiating Committee (SpCANC), four bidders were prequalified for the Request for Proposal (RfP) stage.  

Issuing a statement, the State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit said RfPs were called for from the prequalified bidders in May 2024. During the buy-side due diligence, two prequalified bidders withdrew from the divestiture process. 

The deadline for the submission of proposals ended at 2 pm on Wednesday (July 10) and of the two remaining prequalified bidders, only one, Melwa Hotels & Resorts (Pvt) Ltd, had submitted an offer. 

The SPC and SpCANC will now evaluate this offer against the terms and conditions set out in the RfP and in accordance with the Special Guidelines on Divestiture of State-Owned Enterprises as approved by the Cabinet of Ministers. 

During the evaluation process, the SpCANC is mandated to further discuss this offer with the proposer. Thereafter, the recommendation of SpCANC will be submitted to the Cabinet of Ministers for its decision. 

Colliers International Consultancy & Valuation (Singapore) Pte Ltd is the Transaction Advisor acting alongside Platinum Advisors for this divestiture. (Newswire)

The post Selling Hilton : Govt reveals final bidder appeared first on Newswire.

A total of 14 Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) have been received from potential investors for the Strategic Divestiture of Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. (LGL) and Litro Gas Terminals (Pvt) Ltd. (LGT). 

According to Sri Lanka’s Finance Ministry, the government had called for REOIs on 16th January 2024, with the deadline for submission of proposals ending at 2 pm today (Mar 15).

The REOIs received were considered by the Opening Committee appointed by the Special Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee. 

The Finance Ministry said 14 REOIs were received from the following parties: 

1. Epdesa Pte Ltd, Singapore
2. Bharat Petroleum Cop. Ltd., India
3. Ayaz Anonim Sirketi, Republic of Türkiye
4. SiamGas and Petrochemicals Public Company Limited, Thailand
5. BGN Int DMCC, UAE
6. Confidence Petroleum India Limited, India
7. OQ Trading Limited, UAE
8. Tristar Group, UAE
9. Laugfs Gas PLC, Sri Lanka
10. United Petroleum Holdings, Malaysia
11. Vitol Asia Pte Ltd., Singapore
12. Infinity NGC, Sri Lanka
13. China National Aero Techno, Sri Lanka 
14. Consulting Engineers & Contractors, Sri Lanka

The REOIs will be evaluated by the Special Project Committee as per the Special Guidelines on Divestiture of State-Owned Enterprises approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in July 2023. 

The Finance Ministry added that Deloitte India acts as Transaction Advisor for the Strategic Divestiture of Litro Gas Lanka Ltd. (LGL) and Litro Gas Terminals (Pvt) Ltd. (LGT). (NewsWire)

The post 14 companies interested in buying Litro revealed appeared first on Newswire.

The deadlines on the bids concerning the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines have been extended, it was reported.

Sri Lanka’s divestiture agency said that the deadline to express interest in SriLankan Airlines was extended to April 22, 2024, from March 05, 2024.

The timeline to submit final bids of qualified investors was moved from May to August 2024.

According to Sri Lanka’s divestiture agency, the indicative timeline for Cabinet approval for any sale agreement was moved from June to September.

The selection of pre-qualified bidders has been scheduled for May 2024, while the bidder one-to-one meeting has been moved to June and the site visit to July. (NewsWire)

The post Selling SriLankan Airlines: New Update appeared first on Newswire.

The Court of Appeal has issued an injunction order against the measures taken concerning the divestiture of the Sri Lankan Government’s shares in Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC.

The injunction order, preventing future measures in this regard, is effective until March 12, 2024. 

Court of Appeal Justice D.N. Samarakoon issued the order after taking up for consideration the writ petitions that had been filed against the divestiture of the Sri Lankan Government’s shares in Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC.

Three Petitions were filed for Sri Lanka Telecom PLC including by Lyca Mobiles, and S.M.R. M company, while two petitions were filed for Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC including by Lyca Leasing Holdings.

The petitioners had informed the court that they had submitted bids per the required criteria for the divestiture of the Sri Lankan Government’s shares of 50.23% in Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and 51.34% in Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC.

The petitioners alleged that, however, the Cabinet of Ministers had rejected the bids without providing any clear explanations, adding that the decision was against the law.

Taking into consideration the facts presented by the petitioners, the Court of Appeal issued an injunction order preventing further measures concerning the divestiture of the Sri Lankan Government’s shares in Sri Lanka Telecom PLC and Lanka Hospitals Corporation PLC. (NewsWire)

The post Lyca goes to court over SLT rejection appeared first on Newswire.

Six companies have pre-qualified as bidders for the divestiture of the Sri Lankan Government’s shares in Canwill Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. 

According to the State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit of the Ministry of Finance, among the pre-qualified bidders, five are Indian companies, and the remaining is a local company. 

The State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit said in a statement that the Government acting through the Ministry of Finance called for a Request for Qualification (RFQ) from potential investors for the divestiture of its shares in Canwill Holdings. The deadline for submission of proposals ended at 02.00 pm on Friday, 12th December 2023.

The Request for Quotes (RFQ) received was thereafter, evaluated based on the Special Guidelines on Divestiture of State-Owned Enterprises approved by the Cabinet in July 2023.

Accordingly, the Cabinet Appointed Special Project Committee (SPCC) and the Special Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee (SpCANC) have pre-qualified two bidders for the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage.

Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India (Deloitte India) acts as Transaction Advisor for the divestiture of shares held by the Sri Lankan government in Canwill Holdings (Pvt) Ltd. 

Canwill is the parent company of Sinolanka Hotels & Spa (Pvt) Ltd (Sinolanka) and Helanco Hotels & Spa (Pvt) Ltd (Helanco). 

Sinolanka owns an under-construction top-tier landmark hospitality asset in Colombo, built to Grand Hyatt specifications since Sinolanka entered into a hotel management agreement with Hyatt International- Southwest Asia Ltd in 2012.

The property features an impressive 47-story structure with 458 rooms and an additional 100 serviced apartments, all situated on 2.32 acres of prime oceanfront real estate. The total built-up area encompasses a vast 1,340,562 square feet.

On the other hand, Helanco holds 9.42 acres of beachfront leasehold land in the southern city of Hambantota. (NewsWire)

The post Six companies shortlisted to sell Govt owned Canwill Holdings appeared first on Newswire.

Two international companies have pre-qualified as bidders for the divestiture of the Sri Lankan Government’s shares in Sri Lanka Telecom PLC. 

According to the State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit of the Ministry of Finance, the two companies are Jio Platforms Ltd, Gujrat, India and Gortune International Investment Holding Ltd c/o Capital Alliance Limited.

The State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit said in a statement that the Government acting through the Ministry of Finance called for a Request for Qualification (RFQ) from potential investors for the divestiture of its shares in Sri Lanka Telecom PLC. The deadline for submission of proposals ended at 02.00 pm on Friday, 12th January 2024.

The Request for Quotes (RFQ) received was thereafter, evaluated based on the Special Guidelines on Divestiture of State-Owned Enterprises approved by the Cabinet in July 2023.

Accordingly, the Cabinet Appointed Special Project Committee (SPCC) and the Special Cabinet Appointed Negotiating Committee (SpCANC) have pre-qualified two bidders for the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage.

Among the selected pre-qualified bidders, Jio, part of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Group, is a strong contender, valued at $107 billion by brokerage BofA, while Gortune International Investment Holding is a private equity firm out of China’s southern hub – Guangdong province.

Meanwhile, Pettigo Comercio International LDA c/o NDB Investment Bank Ltd, a front for UK’s Lyca Group owned by Lankan-born entrepreneur Allirajah Subaskaran, has failed to qualify as a bidder. 

The Sri Lankan Government’s sale of a 50.23% stake in Sri Lanka Telecom has drawn interest from the Indian and Chinese firms.

The International Finance Corporation acts as Transaction Advisor for the divestiture of shares held by the Sri Lankan government in Sri Lanka Telecom PLC. (NewsWire)

The post Indian & Chinese companies battle to buy SLT, Lyca out appeared first on Newswire.

The Government of Sri Lanka has called for an invitation for Expression of Interest (EOI) for the divestiture of Litro Gas Lanka Ltd and Litro Gas Terminal Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. 

According to the State-Owned Enterprises Restructuring Unit, the process is scheduled to take place between January 16, 2024 and early July 2024.

The deadline for the submission of EOIs is 02.00 pm on February 16, 2024, while the selection of shortlisted bidders will take place in early March. 

The evaluation of bids and the selection of a successful bidder is scheduled for mid-June 2024.

Further details : https://www.treasury.gov.lk/web/sru-entities-to-be-divested/section/litro-gas-lanka (NewsWire)

The post Litro Gas companies: Major announcement from Govt appeared first on Newswire.