ECONOMYNEXT – Associated Electrical Corporation Limited and Tempest PE Partners who acquired Sri Lanka Technological Campus from Sri Lanka Telecom has injected 290 million rupees in equity grow it, a statement said.
SLTC runs a fully residential campus on a 35-acre property in Padukka with modern buildings. The university offers 25 undergraduate programs in Engineering, Technology, IT, Business and Music with an academic staff of over 200.T
The new team plans to set up a city campus. It is run an independent Academic Council.
“SLTC has developed a strong and progressive academic and management team,” Ajita De Zoysa, Chairman of Associated Electrical Corporation Limited said.
“The investor consortium believes that through their collective experience and leadership across multiple industry sectors, they could add significant value to produce innovative, focused, and employable students who will contribute greatly to Sri Lanka.
“Collectively, all stakeholders believe that SLTC can become one of the leading engineering universities in the region, in addition to developing much needed competencies in fields related to applied sciences, ICT, technology and business.”
The consortium that bought the university includes tJetwing Group, Finco Holdings, Perera & Sons (P&S), ManSek Investments & Insite Holdings.
Tempest PE is a joint venture between Sri Lanka’s Capital Alliance and Insite Holdings.
Chehan Perera, Managing Director of Tempest PE Partners said education is a key area that the firm wanted to develop.
“One of the main attractions of SLTC is the academic structure of the campus, which is overseen by an independent Academic Council, with strong academic teams in place across five disciplines,” Perera said.
“Working closely with the management, we will look to expand the reach of SLTC and leverage its strong academic infrastructure to set up a City Campus, where we can develop exciting foreign partnership programs, leveraging our relationships with leading education groups overseas.”
“I have long believed the entire landscape of higher education in Sri Lanka needs a complete overhaul, including the programs, the curricula, the entire pedagogy, and especially the attitudes of all stakeholders,” Founder President and Chief Executive of SLTC Ranjith Rubasinghe said.
“SLTC intends to be an exemplary leader in the higher education sector and will embrace and effect such change.
“This cannot be done without sufficient freedom for academic governance and management, and with this transaction, I believe we are witnessing a first of a kind in the nation, where SLTC will transform into an education institute that is run by its Academic Council.”
NDB Investment Bank were side financial advisors to the deal generating investor interest.
Nithya Partners were legal advisors to the buyer and D L & F De Saram advised the seller. (Colombo/Jan29/2021)