Financial Times

Bartleet TransCapital to broadbase ownership with private placement
Bartleet TransCapital Limited (BTL), the Bartleet Group's financial services conglomerate is offering its customers and employees an opportunity to take a stake in the company through a private placement.

The company said last week it is offering a placement of 7.5 million ordinary shares of Rs 10 per share, with a premium of Rs 10 which is a discounted price considering the potential and the value of the companies in the group, in a move to broadbase its ownership.

This would represent BTL's first step towards its objective of taking capital-related activities to a new paradigm and across national borders, the company's CEO Indrajith Fernando said. "We are now in the process of streamlining operations to exploit the growing opportunities in the financial services sector," he said. "The purpose of this issue is to provide stakeholders, especially employees and customers an opportunity to participate in the ownership of the company and benefit from the prospective growth of the financial services sector companies of BTL."

The proceeds of this placement would be used as seed capital to integratethe existing business and to contribute towards the development of new service offerings based on the synergies of the integrated business. The private placement will result in an increase in the company's total share capital to Rs 675 million. The company has an authorised share capitalof Rs 1.5 billion.

Bartleet TransCapital Limited offers corporate finance, stock broking, money broking, insurance, merchant banking, leasing, hire purchase, government and corporate debt trading, bond trading, margin trading, portfolio management and a host of related services through a single window. Fernando said BTL plans to invite a strategic investor who can add value to the activities of the Group. The company also plans to further broadbase its ownership by an initial public offering within the next two to three years. The proceeds raised will be used to exploit the growing opportunities in the financial services sector.
The company also plans to seek a listing on the Colombo Stock Exchange within the next three years.

Meanwhile several companies in the Group have reported healthy results for the first half of 2005 with some of them achieving record turnover and profit growth. Susantha Fernando Director of BTL and Managing Director of Bartleet Financial Services (BFS) said, "This year has been the best year for BFS with record turnover and profit. The forecast profit would be over Rs 100 million and would improve progressively year on year during the medium and long term."

R. Muralidaran, Managing Director of Bartleet Mallory Stock Brokers said the company's profitability during the first half has been around Rs 40 million and is forecast to record a profit in excess of Rs 100 million for the first time in the history of BMSB as market conditions are expected to prevail or improve.

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