The listed infrastructure developer, Access Engineering PLC (AEL) yesterday announced its intentions to enter the highly promising leisure sector in a big way, with the acquisition of its related party firm Access Projects (Private) Limited (APL).
AEL will therefore acquire an 80 percent stake in the leisure-related builder, APL on October 1, for a consideration of Rs.1 billion, the company told the Colombo Stock Exchange.  
For this purpose, AEL will purchase a 50 percent stake from Access International (Private) Limited and another 30 percent from Don Dilshan Srilath Ferdinando.  Access International (Private) Limited is a fully-owned entity of Sumal Perera, who is also the Chairman of AEL.
Fernando, as the Managing Director, held a 50 percent stake of APL prior to the sale and will continue to function in his existing capacity with the balance 20 percent stake post-sale.  
Speaking about the acquisition, Perera said he wanted to bring APL inside the group, as by being within the group, the company could add more value than operating as a standalone entity.
“Even though it has been five years since the end of the conflict, the building sector in the country has not picked up in a big way. So, I believe with this acquisition, we could take up bigger building projects than what we undertook earlier,” he told Mirror Business.

According to Perera, over the years, APL has functioned as the contractor in building many leisure sector projects such as Galle Face Hotel, Taj Samudra, Ramada Hotel Colombo, Shangri-La, etc.
APL is a C1 graded builder and also F1 graded for total interior and aluminum works, both being the highest rating by the Institute for Construction Training and Development.
The company operates under three divisions, namely construction, aluminum and ceiling.
The company is the only manufacturer of metal ceiling panels in Sri Lanka and is the sole franchiser of ‘Aluk Italy’ proprietary aluminum doors, windows and curtain wall systems.  
AEL is currently involved in many road development projects and the company successfully completed the Polduwa Bridge, the multi-span composite bridge across Diyawanna Oya, three months ahead of schedule.
For the quarter ended June 30, 2014 (1Q15), the AEL group posted a net profit of Rs.543 million (54 cents per share), slightly declining from Rs.551 million (55 cents per share) recorded a year ago.
(DK)