Thornton acquires Dane Engineering for Rs.350mn

• Thornton and Dane’s combined project portfolio tops Rs.5.9bn
• New entity says confident of doubling portfolio in FY 2021-22

Thornton Engineering, the Nextventures-owned civil engineering company, has announced the acquisition of a 100 percent stake in Dane Engineering (Pvt.) Ltd for Rs.350 million, creating a construction business with a combined portfolio of Rs.5.9 billion.

The new entity, Thornton and Dane Engineering, expects to add new construction projects with a cumulative value of Rs.5 billion within the current financial year, nearly doubling its projects portfolio, the company said in its announcement.

“We are excited at the post-acquisition prospects for the new company because we strongly believe that it is a good example for the concept of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts,” said Thornton and Dane Director Dinesh Schaffter. 

“The combined strengths of Thornton and Dane create a formidable as well as extremely flexible engineering company that is capable of executing projects of varying scope and scale.”

Dane Engineering founder Deepthi Perera, who serves as Managing Director of Thornton and Dane, added, “This acquisition is a logical and timely milestone in the evolution of both entities. It creates synergies and capabilities that are needed to succeed in Sri Lanka’s construction sector at a time when many companies are facing challenges in achieving growth due to economic slowdowns and the effects of the global pandemic. We are confident that our business will emerge stronger and even more agile as a result of this acquisition.”

A construction service company with origins dating back to 2004, Dane Engineering is registered with ICTAD of Sri Lanka as a Grade C1 contracting company and is ISO 9001 certified. Founded as an offshore ship salvaging company, Dane Engineering was awarded one of the largest domestic water supply projects in the North Eastern region, leading to its metamorphosis into a civil engineering company with an emphasis on infrastructure, buildings and special projects.

Today, Dane Engineering employs 400 people and focuses principally on vertical and horizontal condominium projects, housing projects, hotels, office buildings and bridge, road and water supply construction projects and has developed extensive capabilities in the execution of mechanical as well as structural steel and aluminium fabrication and horizontal directional drilling. 

Among Dane Engineering’s many noteworthy achievements are the completion of the 100-room Citrus Waskaduwa hotel in just 97 days and the company’s appointment as the partner in the Homagama Park Lane project, a horizontal condominium project comprising of 74 luxury villas. The company was the construction partner for many well-known buildings and projects including Loft Residencies – Colombo, University College of Technology – Ratmalana, the Family Planning Association – Narahenpita, Urban Heights – Wattala and the Kelsey Homes projects at Kottawa and Ja-Ela. 

Among its numerous infrastructure projects are the Gabion wall of the Beira Lake, a World Bank-funded road development project in the Sabaragamuwa Province and several bridges in the Central province.
Consequent to the acquisition of Dane Engineering, the board of directors of Thornton and Dane will comprise of Managing Director Deepthi Perera, CEO Piyal Hennayake, Dinesh Schaffter, Sivasothy Sitharthan and Eng. K.P.I.U. Dharmapala.