Brawl at Ceylinco Insurance EGM as battle heats up

Wednesday, 21 January 2015 00:56 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The battle between Ceylinco Insurance PLC and minority shareholder, Global Rubber Industries (GRI) took an ugly turn when an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) of the company devolved into fisticuffs yesterday. A minor employee of Ceylinco Insurance who was allegedly bitten during the confrontation has been hospitalised along with a GRI employee in the aftermath of the brawl. Both sides have since lodged complaints with the Police in regard to the altercation.

GRI CFO SanjayaSamararatna (second from left) addressing the media as GRI Group General Manager ParakramaWeerasinghe(left) and good governance activist K.C. Vignarajah look on – Pic by Daminda Harsha Perera Yesterday’s EGMs were convened at the request of GRI in order to seek further information on the proposed formation of two separate subsidiaries for Life and General Insurance, a move which would change the role of Ceylinco Insurance PLC into that of a mere holding company. GRI, which currently holds a collective 29.9% of the voting shares of Ceylinco Insurance PLC, had raised concerns over the model of segregation to be followed by the company and its potential impact on the value of minority shareholdings via several resolutions which were to be tabled at the meeting. The dispute was reportedly sparked off following a special announcement made by Ceylinco Insurance Chairman Godwin Perera prior to the resolutions being tabled. Citing a Court order which purportedly grants approval for the transfer of the assets, liabilities and business of the company into two fully-owned subsidiaries, Perera had told the gathering that further consideration of the resolutions proposed was therefore unnecessary. Accounts of proceedings differ at this point, with a spokesperson for Ceylinco Insurance alleging that a few shareholders had thereafter resorted to unruly behaviour and attempted to assault the Company Directors. Meanwhile, GRI Chief Financial OfficerSanjayaSamararatne addressing a media gathering subsequent to last morning’s events alleged that it was in fact the minority shareholders who were surrounded and then physically and verbally abused. “All we wanted was more information on the segregation model. The company tried to rely on some Court proceedings to say that they don’t need shareholder approval to segregate; however, the proceedings clearly state that this is only in respect of consequential matters and not the segregation itself. In any case, why would the company want to hide behind Court orders instead of giving shareholders information on the segregation? “We call upon all regulatory authorities, including the Insurance Board of Sri Lanka, the Colombo Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission, to investigate this incident and the conduct of all individuals responsible for this shameful behaviour,” he stated. According to a Ceylinco Insurance spokesperson, further details on the proposed segregation were elaborated upon during a second meeting held shortly after, during which several shareholders had reportedly commended the Board of Directors for their management of the proposed segregation.