LOLC Holdings to transfer stakes in finance companies to new holding company

Sri Lanka's LOLC Holdings PLC plans to transfer its stakes in LOLC Finance PLC, Commercial Leasing & Finance PLC and LOLC Development Finance PLC to a wholly owned subsidiary as part of its strategy to attract large foreign investors to the companies.

The conglomerate said the restructuring would involve the transfer of its 44.79% stake in LOLC Finance, its 98.92% stake in Commercial Leasing & Finance and its 55.55% stake in LOLC Development Finance to LOLC Ceylon Holdings Ltd. Prior to the proposed transfer, it plans to list LOLC Ceylon Holdings on the Colombo stock exchange, according to a Jan. 12 filing.

The transaction will be executed at the prevailing market prices at the date of the transfer as an off-the-floor transaction.

LOLC Holdings said it has obtained in-principle approval for the proposed transfers from the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka's Department of Supervision of Non-Bank Financial Institutions confirmed it had no objection to the transfer.