LOLC and Bank of East Asia acquire majority stake in Prasac

According to a joint company announcement, Sri Lanka’s LOLC and Hong Kong’s Bank of East Asia (BEA) have jointly acquired a majority stake in Prasac Microfinance, in what could be the largest acquisition of a Cambodian micro-lender to date. The acquisition raised LOLC’s existing holding from 22% to 70%, with BEA holding 21%, and Prasac Staff Company Ltd retaining the remaining 9% stake. The deal for LOLC was valued at $186mn, according to Sri Lankan media report. Sim Senacheert, CEO of Prasac, was quoted in the release as saying that BEA was a strategic investor that would further contribute to sustainable economic development and financial inclusion in Cambodia. David Li, chairman and chief executive of BEA, said the deal marked the financial group’s first foothold in the Kingdom and would help it expand its reach to the ASEAN Economic Community. The Hong Kong’s financial group reported $98.7bn in consolidated assets as of the end of last year. (Source: Phnom Penh Post)