Deal sealed to sell 45% of the key EAP Group assets

COLOMBO (News 1^st) - A deal has been sealed to sell 45% of the key assets of the EAP Group to a Singapore-based investment holding company. The Central Bank of Sri Lanka has given the green light to proceed with the deal. Recently the Central Bank had taken regulatory action on ETI Finance Ltd and Swarnamahal Financial Services PLC. The action was taken with a view to safeguard the interests of the depositors and other creditors of the two companies and to ensure safety and soundness of the financial system. The assets that will be sold under the 75 million US Dollar deal would be; Swarnamahal Financial Services PLC, EAP Films and Theatres Private Limited, EAP Broadcasting Company Limited and Swarnamahal Jewellers, said the Mirror Business newspaper. Further, it said that the EAP Group is likely to receive an advance payment running into several million US dollars today (March 27) and the deal may be completed by the end of April. The investor that had come forward was a Singapore based Blue Summit Capital Management, a senior ranked officer of CBSL told News 1st. Investigations revealed that this company was incorporated in Singapore on January 12^th, 2018. Two individuals by the name of Cyrill Rodrigo and Omar Qandeel serve as Board Directors in this company. Interestingly, Omar Qandeel was also a director in Supreme Sat which was involved in the project to launch a satellite during the previous government. Supreme Sat is a company owned by Ramasamy Muthusamy Manivannan. He was the main shareholder of the company involved in the Horton Square Development Project down Horton Place. Another person listed as a shareholder and involved in that project is Jaya Sudhir Jayaram. He was recently detained at the Katunayake Airport for attempting to illegally carry foreign currency overseas. Britain Based Lyca Mobile was preparing to purchase the EAP Group while Jaya Sudhir Jayaram arrived in the country for an intermediary role in the deal. However, how can one decide to sell off one of the leading companies in the country to a company that was just incorporated a few months ago?