Agarapatana Plantations to list via IPO of 16.6% stake for Rs. 747.6 m

• Funds raised via IPO to be used for Rs. 672.6 m investment in modern equipment and settlement of high-cost term loans worth Rs. 75 m

Lankem Group’s Agarapatana Plantations Ltd., is to list on the Colombo Stock Exchange via an Initial Public Offering worth Rs. 747.6 million.

The CSE has approved, in-principle, an application by the company to list on the Diri Savi Board.

The IPO involves 83,070,111 Ordinary Voting Shares at Rs. 9 each.  The quantity of shares amount to 16.61% of the post-issue Ordinary Voting Shares of the Company. The

Net Asset Value per share of the Equity (NAV) is Rs. 8.43 and the Offer Price is 1.07 times the NAV. Capital Alliance Partners Ltd., is the manager of the IPO.

Funds raised via the IPO are for investment in modern equipment to develop APL factories to “State of the Art - Processing Centres” (Rs. 672.6 million) and settlement of high-cost term loans worth Rs. 75 million.

As per Rule 2.4(c)(i) of the CSE Listing Rules permits the company to open the subscription list within a period of six (6) months from the date of receiving approval from the CSE. Accordingly, the company will determine the said date of opening (within the aforesaid time period) and notify the same in due course.

The Lankem Developments PLC is the Parent Company of Agarapatana Plantations holding 67.45% of the issued share capital whilst related parties are also shareholders.

The Company specialises in the cultivation, manufacture and sale of high-quality tea. APL is one of the few mono-crop companies in the plantation sector, with all of the tea extent located in the “High Grown” districts of Nuwara Eliya and Badulla, which fall within the Western and Uva High elevation categories.

The Company has plantations located in the Agras valley and Uva regions in Sri Lanka. Properties held by APL include historical properties like Dambatenne Estate situated in the Badulla district in the Uva province of Sri Lanka and ranges in elevation from 1509m to 1936m above sea level. Dambatenne is intrinsically linked to the history of Ceylon Tea. It was instrumental in the building of the Lipton Tea Empire and, by association, the legacy of Ceylon Tea. Sir Thomas Lipton acquired the property in the 1890s owning it until his demise in the early 1930s. The teas are sold under the “Bandara Eliya” garden mark and are still sought after as in the days of Sir Thomas Lipton.