Interim order issued on Agalawatte EGM

Due to an interim order granted by the Commercial High Court of Colombo, Agalawatte Plantations PLC yesterday said it could not take up any of the resolutions planned during the firm’s Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held yesterday.

Secretaries to Agalawatte Plantations said the case is scheduled to be heard on July 18, 2018. They also said EGM was adjourned to July 26, 2018 to be held subject to the decision of the court.

According to the filings submitted to the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE), the company was hoping to obtain shareholder approval for a Rs.2 billion rights issue during the EGM.

A stock exchange filing made this February said the proceeds of the rights issue would be utilised to part settle the related party borrowings amounting to Rs.2 billion obtained during April 2017 to December 2017 for the purpose of settling the company’s outstanding bank borrowings, statutory dues and funding the working capital requirements. 

In July 2016, 60.8 percent stake of Agalawatte Plantations was sold by its major shareholder, Mackwoods Plantations Limited to Browns Power Holdings Private Limited, an LOLC group company for Rs.304 million.

But in less than a year on March 27, 2017, Browns sold its stake to D.R. Investments, the owners of Damro, for Rs.275 million.  

The sale was made when the family-run Mackwoods group of companies was mired in an ownership tussle.

As at March 31, 2018, D.R. Investments held 61.2 percent of the issued shares of the company.