Tycoon turned philanthropist Nahil to foot Rs. 1.5 b East West exit offer

Nahil Wijesuriya 

Business tycoon turned philanthropist Nahil Wijesuriya is to foot the Rs. 1.5 billion worth exit offer to shareholders of East West Properties PLC (EWP) as part of the proposed delisting move.

Earlier this week EWP said its Board considered a request from principal shareholder Nahil Wijesuriya and resolved to initiate the delisting of the company’s shares from the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) subject to obtaining shareholder and regulatory approval. The exit offer is Rs. 16 per share. 

EWP is essentially a real estate and property management company renting four warehouses and three office buildings.

Shares in issue of EWP is 138.24 million and the public float is 22.6% or 31.24 million shares held by 2,566 shareholders hence the offer to minority shareholders is worth Rs. 500 million.

Nahil holds 36.99% stake in EWP whilst his children own a further 46% or 63.8 million shares including Anika (21.55%) and Vajira (18.86%). Analysts speculated that children will also accept the exit offer as Nahil plans to liquidate the company post-delisting. 

In the June 2024 quarter, the highest share price of EWP was Rs. 11.26 and the lowest was Rs. 8.20 before closing at Rs. 10.40. The share last traded at Rs. 10.60. Net Assets Value per share was Rs. 19.36 as at 30 June 2024, up from Rs. 18.72 a year ago.

In FY24, EWP achieved a revenue of Rs. 136 million and an operating profit of Rs. 30 million. With Rs. 84 million in net finance income, pre-tax profit was Rs. 114 million and after-tax figure was Rs. 93.26 million. Debt-free EWP had assets worth Rs. 2.8 billion and the company had revenue reserves worth Rs. 1.38 billion.

Nahil in December last year, donated Rs 1 billion for the Little Hearts Project of Lady Ridgeway Hospital. The funds will primarily go towards expediting the installation of the long-awaited air conditioning system in the Cardiac and Critical Care Complex at Lady Ridgeway Hospital. In May this year, he donated Rs. 270 million for construction of Bishop’s College New A-Level and O-Level building. In 2018, Nahil gifted a building to marine professionals in memory of his mother Agnes Wijesuriya through the Agnes Wijesuriya Charitable Fund.

The five storeyed building at Colpetty houses, the office of the Chief Engineers Marine (SOCEM) and the Institute of Marine Engineers Science and Technology (IMarEST). This was a fitting gesture by Nahil who has had a chequered career in maritime industry starting as a Marine Engineering Apprentice at Walker Sons and Co., obtaining a HND in Mechanical and Production Engineering in 1970, from the Leicester College of Technology United Kingdom. He sailed as a Marine Engineer in the ships of P&O Lines of the UK and the Ceylon Shipping Corporation (CSC). He was later the Technical Manager of the CSC and thereafter the Deputy Chief Engineer of the Colombo Dockyard. Subsequently, he co-founded East West Enterprises Ltd., in 1977 with another Seafarer, Captain Lester Weinman.