Ambeon Group makes voluntary takeover bid for Harischandra Mills

Tuesday, 27 January 2026 03:11 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Says subsidiary Ambeon Essentials signed Share Sale and Purchase Agreement; price undisclosed
Acquisition subject to obtaining necessary regulatory approvals
Post-announcement, Harischandra share price jumps by Rs. 1,396 or 25% to Rs. 6,982
Deal likely to have been struck with family-linked owners
Hayleys single largest shareholder with 40.5% stake acquired last October at Rs. 3,300 per share

Ambeon Capital PLC yesterday said it has entered into Share Sale and Purchase Agreement to acquire a 51.11% controlling stake in Harischandra Mills PLC involving 918,118 shares from a consortium of investors through its subsidiary, Ambeon Essentials Ltd., but did not disclose a price.

The share price of Harischandra Mills soared after the announcement, closing up by Rs. 1,396.25 or 25% to Rs. 6,982 with 3,166 shares traded, generating a turnover of nearly Rs. 22 million. Based on this price, the 981,118 shares Ambeon Essentials proposes to buy would be worth Rs. 6.85 billion.

Analysts, however, claimed that the deal price would be far below market price or only slightly above the Rs. 3,300 paid by Hayleys PLC for its 40% stake in October 2025.

The Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) yesterday halted share trades of Harischandra Mills at 9:18 a.m. which was later lifted at 10:22 a.m. after the disclosure was made at 10:15 a.m. As at end-September 2025, Harischandra Mills reported net assets of Rs. 916.77 per share.

Ambeon Capital yesterday said the Share Sale and Purchase Agreement was signed on 24 January. The shares are currently held by a consortium of investors.

Ambeon Capital said the acquisition is subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals from the relevant authorities.

The company added that Ambeon Essentials intends to make a voluntary offer to acquire the remaining ordinary voting shares of Harischandra Mills PLC from all shareholders, in line with the Takeovers and Mergers Code and applicable regulations.

Details of the voluntary offer, including the offer price and terms, will be announced after the required approvals are secured, the company said.

Analysts said that Ambeon is likely to have struck a deal with family-linked shareholders who hold a combined stake of 54.75%: Upeka de Silva (14.95%), Chitra Padmini Rodrigo (14.53%), N.T. Samarasinghe (13.9%), S.N. Samarasinghe (3.99%), Nanditha Rodrigo (1.60%), S.A. Rodrigo (1.60%), D.H.C. Ekanayake (1.47%), A.G.I. Selvaraj (1.41%), and H.D. Wijayananda (1.29).

The public float of Harischandra is 54.83% held by 621 shareholders as at end-September 2025.

Ambeon’s move comes after Hayleys PLC purchased 778,946 ordinary shares of Harischandra Mills PLC in October 2025 at Rs. 3,300 each, amounting to a controlling 40.5% stake in the company for Rs. 2.57 billion from Senthilverl Holdings Ltd.