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Friday, May 31, 2013

Hemas takes control of J. L. Morison for Rs. 1.7 b

◾Pays 17% premium for voting shares

Hemas Holdings Plc yesterday purchased a 71.5% voting stake and a 50% non-voting stake in J.L. Morison Son & Jones (Ceylon) PLC (JLM) valued at Rs. 1.7 billion.

Voting stake of 4.153 million shares was acquired via crossing at Rs. 366.50 per share, a premium of Rs. 53.80 or 17% from Thursday’s closing.

A block of 648,580 non-voting shares was done at Rs. 219.70 each and further block of 223,787 non-voting shares at Rs. 213.66 each were also bought. JML’s voting share closed at Rs. 346.20, up by Rs. 33.50 and non-voting at Rs. 219, up by Rs. 33.90. Their intra-day peak was Rs. 358.80 and Rs. 221 respectively. JLM’s consolidated net asst per share as at 31 December 2012 was Rs. 259.10 at Group level and Rs. 150 at Company level.

The buying broker to the deal was NDBS whilst advisor to the seller Acuity handled 41% of the voting shares sold and 24% of non-voting.

For the nine months of FY13, JLM’s Group revenue was static at Rs. 2.16 billion whilst after tax profit was Rs. 108 million down by 16% whilst profit attributable to equity holders was Rs. 73 million, down by 12% over first nine months of FY12. Group assets amounted to Rs. 2.7 billion and at Company level the figure was Rs. 1.6 billion

In a statement Hemas said the JLM Group has a portfolio of well-established consumer brands including Lacto Calamine, Valmelix, Morrison’s Gripe Mixture and Morrison’s Baby products. In addition, the company distributes leading consumer brands Good Knight, Kiwi, Wipro, Nivea, Garnier and L’Oreal as well as manufacturing and distributing pharmaceutical products island wide.

Incumbent Chairman R. Abeyawira, who has been part of the JLM Group for 61 years and due to retire from the business, said: “When the time came for us to look for a new parent for the business, our priority was to find the right partner, a party capable of taking the business forward. Having discussed with several prospective partners, we selected Hemas since it has the best fit with our business portfolio and is capable of taking this business to greater heights, building on our people-oriented culture and values.”

Hemas Holdings Plc CEO Husein Esufally said: “We look forward to working closely with the team at JLM bringing our deep insights into consumer and pharmaceutical business, helping to develop JLM as a leading consumer and wellness company.”

JLM’s outgoing CEO Nihal Samaranayake expressed his confidence in the new owners and their management capability to capitalise on the fast growing consumer and pharmaceutical markets.

Incoming CEO Trihan Perera highlighted the history and legacy of the JLM Group and said he hoped to build on the strengths and achievements of the company while bringing a new level of dynamism to the group.

source - www.ft.lk