Alvarez & Marsal and CAL to provide holistic offering to Govt. in divestiture of SLIC

Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) said this week it will provide a holistic offering to the Sri Lankan Government in successfully carrying out the divestiture of Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation.

The assurance follows A&M being appointed by the Government’s State-Owned Enterprise Restructuring Unit (SRU) to advise on the divestiture of the Government’s shareholding in the state-owned SLIC.

A&M has been mandated in partnership with Capital Alliance (CAL), the Colombo-headquartered investment bank, to manage the divestment of all, or part of, the shareholding of SLIC, one of seven state-owned enterprises currently being targeted for divestiture of government ownership by the SRU. 

The A&M team delivering the mandate will be led by the firm’s Sovereign Advisory Services (SAS) practice Global Head Dr. Reza Baqir, a former Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, and previously a senior official of the IMF. 

The CAL team will be led by the firm’s Investment Banking practice head Nishok Goonasekera, a former Executive Director of Morgan Stanley Asia in its Institutional Securities business. 

The mandate is part of the Government’s overall reform program to enhance competitiveness, productivity and efficiency across the economy and to assist in the country’s socio-economic development and fiscal consolidation efforts.

A&M’s Global Head Sovereign Advisory Services practice Dr. Reza Baqir said: “We are delighted to support the Government of Sri Lanka’s economic reform program and its efforts to divest Government ownership in identified state-owned enterprises. The goal of SAS is to provide a holistic offering to sovereigns to help them with their needs in sovereign finance, operational and financial performance improvement in state-owned enterprises and financial services, and related challenges. We will be working closely with our partners at CAL on this mandate.”

CAL Founder and Director Ajith Fernando said: “CAL is pleased to be partnering with A&M on this strategic collaboration, which signifies a powerful fusion of our on-the-ground knowledge and A&M’s deep restructuring experience. This is a welcome opportunity to support the Sri Lankan Government in achieving its economic reform policy objectives.”

A&M’s Financial Services Practice Managing Director Tariq Hameed said: “The appointment of A&M and CAL on this mandate is testament to the holistic approach of our Sovereign Advisory Services offer. A&M’s heritage in corporate restructuring and financial services and CAL’s local capital markets expertise makes us well-positioned to jointly lead this economically important mandate.” 

Companies, investors, and Government entities around the world turn to Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) for leadership, action, and results. Privately held since its founding in 1983, A&M is a leading global professional services firm that provides advisory, business performance improvement and turnaround management services. When conventional approaches are not enough to create transformation and drive change, clients seek our deep expertise and ability to deliver practical solutions to their unique problems.

With over 8,000 people providing services across six continents, we deliver tangible results for corporates, boards, creditors, private equity firms, law firms and government agencies facing complex challenges. Our senior leaders, and their teams, leverage A&M’s restructuring heritage to help companies act decisively, catapult growth and accelerate results. We are experienced operators, world-class consultants, former regulators, and industry authorities with a shared commitment to telling clients what’s really needed for turning change into a strategic business asset, managing risk and unlocking value at every stage of growth.

Capital Alliance (CAL) is a name synonymous with innovation when it comes to Sri Lanka’s financial markets and has been so since the company’s founding at the start of the Millennium. From its inception, CAL has leveraged its extensive capital market and macro-economic expertise to grow within a few decades into one of the country’s largest full-service investment banks. It provides clients, including institutions, family businesses, and high-net-worth individuals, with services ranging from primary dealing, stockbroking, and wealth management to corporate finance advisory and cutting-edge market research.

Having played a part in many of Sri Lanka’s landmark market transactions over the past two decades, CAL recently launched its first overseas expansion with the inception of CAL Bangladesh in 2021. By constantly pushing the boundaries of excellence, CAL continues to be a premier destination for both local and global investors, to access and benefit from Sri Lanka’s, and increasingly the region’s, capital markets.