* Plans to raise Rs. 4bn offering 18 percent of the firm, 75 per cent of money will be spent to retire debt
Sri Lanka’s Softlogic Holdings, a group with business interests in hospitals, electronic and apparel retail, and leisure is planning to raise four billion rupees in what would be the second largest share issue so far this year. "We will come into the market before the 10th of June," said Pathirage, chairman and founder of the Softlogic group. He said the firm is awaiting CSE approval.
ExpoLanka Holdings, a family run freight and logistics firm last week announced the largest IPO so far this year of 2.4 billion rupees. Sri Lanka’s state-run national carrier SriLankan Airlines has also announced plans to divest a part of its fully owned catering unit SriLankan Catering, through a public listing estimated at five billion rupees but the issue date has not been finalized yet.
Softlogic Holdings is offering 18 percent of the firm’s stake to raise money of which 75 percent or three billion rupees will be utilized to retire debt while the balance will be spent on the group’s expansion plans.
Softlogic group which expanded over the last two decades now includes a dozen subsidiaries. It started with the distributorship for Nokia phones in Sri Lanka. Softlogic Trading is the authorized dealer for DELL computers here. It also gained the Panasonic distributorship when it acquired Uni Walkers, a struggling firm at that time.
In 2006 Softlogic diversified into healthcare by acquiring Asiri Hospitals. Pathirage now controls the Asiri Hospitals group, the largest private sector hospital chain in the island with three hospitals in Colombo and one in the Southern town of Matara.
The group forayed into readymade clothes retail when it bagged the dealership for the US jeans wear brand Levi’s here in October last year and sportswear brand Nike in Sri Lanka.
"We are very bullish about the retail business," said Pathirage of his latest expansion plans in retail business which has also bagged dealership for Spanish women’s clothing label Mango and Giordano last month.
He said two ‘Mango’ and Giordano branded clothing stores are scheduled to be opened by July this year and a Nike store by end May.
The group recently acquired hotel Ceysands, a part of the failed Ceylinco group for 925 million rupees.
Pathirage said the 84 room located in Bentota along the southern coastal belt, 65 kilometers from Colombo, on a split of land between the Bentota river and the Indian Ocean is to be revamped into a four star 150 room hotel at a cost of one billion rupees.
He said the hotel will be closed for one and a half years for renovation and once operational will set room rates at USD 155 per room night.
"We want to be a reasonable player in the leisure sector," said Pathirage.
The Softlogic group has also penned a deal with Swiss based international hotel chain Movenpick Hotels and Resorts to manage the city hotel the group plans to build on a prime land adjacent to a popular shopping mall in the heart of Colombo.
source - www.island.lk
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