NDB Investment Bank successfully concludes Lion Brewery debenture

NDB Investment Bank Limited (NDBIB), the premier investment bank in Sri Lanka, acted as managers and financial advisors to the successfully concluded debenture issue of Rs. 2 billion for Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC (LION). The issue, which was oversubscribed within an hour of opening, closed on the same day.
LION decided to exercise the option to accept a further 10 million debentures (Rs. 1 billion) in addition to the initial issue of 10 million debentures (Rs. 1 billion) as there was an overwhelming demand for the issue. The issue attracted applications for more than 26 million debentures (Rs. 2.6 billion) mostly from institutional investors.
Lion Brewery (Ceylon) PLC issued Rated Unsecured Redeemable Debentures with a tenor of five years with interest payable semi-annually and are listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange. LION had obtained short-term loan facilities to meet the expenditure incurred towards modernising and upgrading its existing production facilities. LION intends to utilise the Rs. 2 billion raised through this debenture issue to refinance the said short term loan facilities, taking advantage of the prevailing low interest rates.
This is the second successive debenture issue NDBIB managed for LION, after the successful raising of Rs. 3 billion via its debut debenture in June 2013.
NDBIB has successfully concluded three debentures in 2014 and is in the process of bringing the fourth debenture to the market this year. NDBIB has maintained its market leadership position in debenture issues for the non-financial institution category.
NDB Investment Bank Limited is a fully owned subsidiary of NDB Capital Holdings PLC, which is a subsidiary of National Development Bank PLC, providing full-service investment banking services to its diverse clientele.