Hemas eyeing Maliban

The Hemas Group is exploring possibilities of an acquisition or buying a stake at the country's pioneering biscuit manufacturer, Maliban Biscuits Ltd, industry sources said.

“There are initial discussions taking place to acquire, buy into a stake or possibly take over the distribution function at Maliban,” a company source told The Sunday Times FT.

Maliban has an eight-acre facility in Ratmalana and 1,200 employees at present. The company is presently the largest biscuit manufacturer in Sri Lanka, with a monthly output of 3,000 metric tonnes.

Hemas has businesses in healthcare, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), leisure, transportation and power. Stock market analysts said that making a change to their in-organic growth strategy the company is now concentrating on expanding the existing operations beyond the current boundaries.

Industry sources said that Hemas is presently looking at making strategic acquisitions into different sectors, and that Maliban presents a good opportunity.