Browns Investments PLC has issued an official announcement to the Colombo Stock Exchange today (08) regarding the acquisition of 85% holding of James Finlay (Kenya) Limited (JFK).

The full corporate disclosure is as follows;

B Commodities ME FZE UAE which is a subsidiary of  Browns Investments PLC (BI), entered in to an agreement on the 3^rd of May 2023 with James Finlay Limited, a Scottish registered company, to acquire 85% holding of James Finlay (Kenya) Limited (JFK) for a consideration calculated in accordance with the provisions of the sale and purchase agreement. Completion of the sale is conditional upon clearance from COMESA and a pre-completion restructuring to transfer a tea extracts facility to another member of the seller’s group.

JFK’s assets include eleven-thousand-hectare tea plantation which produce 30 million kilograms of high-quality tea annually and a commercial timber reserve comprising of primarily Eucalyptus grandis trees.

BI is one of the largest made tea producing companies in Sri Lanka having under its management a total of 49 plantations through Maturata Plantations Limited, Udapussellawa Plantations PLC and Hapugastenna Plantations PLC. The company produces approximately 12 million kilograms of made tea annually.