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by Ravi Ladduwahetty

Veteran investor Dhammika Perera, who made giant inroads into the equity stakes of the National Development Bank, Royal Ceramics Lanka Ltd, LB Finance Ltd and Pan Asia Bank, yesterday purchased a 7.3 million equity stake in Connissance De Ceylan Ltd, commanding 37.68 percent of the hotel company, at over Rs. 73 million.

Perera who owns 10 percent of the National Development Bank and thereby being the single largest shareholder of the Bank, also owns 29 percent each of Royal Ceramics Lanka Ltd and LB Finance and 10 percent of Pan Asia Bank.

"Now that I am the single largest shareholder of Connaisance, I will make a Mandatory Offer to the other shareholders for the purchase of the remaining shares up to 100 percent in accordance with the rules which have been listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange," Perera told the Daily News in a interview at the Colombo Hilton, shortly after the purchase.

Perera will offer the same Rs. 11 rate for the other remaining shares of the hotel company in consonance with the rules laid out by the CSE.

In an unprecendent development, Executive Director of Connaissance De Ceylan Arjuna Dharmadasa who sought litigation over the company's Chairman Chandra Wickremesinghe, has decided to withdraw the case, following Dhammika Perera's acquisition of the 37.68 percent equity stake, which also included the 12 percent equity stake hitherto owned by Dharmadasa. The modalities are being worked out by the Attorneys of both parties.

He said that the prospects for the development of the hotel sector were very positive with the peace overtures made between the Government and the LTTE and the macro-economic fundamentals being sound for investment.

He said that he would add value to the four hotels of the Group which include the Rs. One billion Culture Club Hotel at Dambulla and the Le Kandyan Hotel in Kandy which are owned by Connaissance.

The company also manages the Kosgoda Beach Resort at Kosgoda in the Southern Province and also markets the Unawatuna Beach Resort in Galle. The company also holds the General Sales Agency for Air France.

He said that his long term plans for the company included the construction and operations of new hotels in the Eastern Province at Trincomalee and Pasikuddah and also in the South. There will not be any retrenchment to the existing staff of any of the existing hotels, he said. Responding to a question as to whether he will be going in for the shares of other premier blue chip hotel shares such as Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings and those within the blue chip John Keells Group, he replied in the negative.

He said that his buying of shares was both strategic and purchases for trading. He said that his investors were not to follow him in buying the same stocks that he purchased.

Perera, who prides himself in being called a University drop out, was an undergraduate student of the University of Moratuwa where he read for a Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering but left in 1988 without completion.

He said that being an engineering student, his pet projects were power generation. He is also in the process of constructing two 9.9 Megawatt hydropower projects at Kahawatte and Kuruwita.

The Kahawatte project, which is off the Way Ganga, is a Rs. 700 million project and is funded by the DFCC Bank and the Private Sector Infrastructure Development Co. Ltd (PSIDC) The Kuruwita Project is off the Kuru Ganga in the Ratnapura District which is also funded by the DFCC Bank and also a consortium of private sector banks. Both projects will be commissioned within the next 12 months. Meanwhile, trading in the Colombo bourse saw a dip in both the All Share Price Index (ASPI)and the Millanka Price Index (MPI).

The ASPI dipped 6.03 points to 810.2 points while the MPI dipped 8.63 points to 1377.52 points.

The turnover was Rs. 184.6 million of which Rs. 60 million was accounted in foreign purchases. Foreign sales amounted to Rs. 6 million.

While the Connaisance share sale was the biggest in terms of volume and price, there was a 3.6 million share slab of Distilleries Company of Sri Lanka Ltd which changed hands where there was foreign buying as well. The transaction yielded Rs. 35 million.

The third highest was the 279,000 slab of Lanka Lubricants Ltd which yielded Rs. 32 million. There was a parcel of 200,000 parcel of Dipped Products Ltd which yielded Rs. 14 million.

The top five gainers yesterday were: LOLC which rose by Rs. 50 and closed at 77.50, Shaw Wallace and hedges which rose by Rs. 4 and closed at Rs. 56, Dipped Products which rose by Rs. 3 and closed at Rs. 73, Browns which rose Rs. 3 and closed at Rs. 108 and Lanka Lubricants which rose by Rs 1.75 and closed at Rs. 117.

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Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
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