Prequalification deadline delay in SriLankan Airlines sale

The Sri Lankan government has extended the prequalification deadline to buy a majority stake in SriLankan Airlines (UL, Colombo International) until March 5, 2024. It is the third extension, with the application originally due in early December 2023. Consequently, the government has adjusted other target dates in the sale timeline. No reason was provided for the new deferral in the January 30 bid bulletin update released by the Ministry of Finance. Under the amended timeline, the selection of prequalified bidders and opening of the data room will now occur in mid-March, with the issuance of the RFP and draft definitive agreements slated to happen at the end of the same month. One-on-one meetings with bidders and site visits will now take place across April. Final submissions and the selection of the successful bidder remain scheduled to happen in May. The issuance of a letter of intent, cabinet approval, and a signing of agreements will follow that in June. The Sri Lankan government is selling stakes in several state-owned enterprises in an attempt to clean up the national balance sheet and shift the operations of what are mainly commercial entities to the private sector. The government owns 99.52% of SriLankan Airlines but intends to sell a majority stake to a strategic investor. Last year, spruiking the divesture, the government said the state-owned carrier offered "a great opportunity for profitable growth in the hands of the right investor building a major hub in the Indian Ocean."<br/>