Linklaters has advised Hong Kong’s The Bank of East Asia (BEA) on its joint acquisition with Sri Lanka’s Lanka Orix Leasing Company International (LOLC) of a controlling majority stake in PRASAC Microfinance, Cambodia’s biggest microfinance institution (MFI). 

The transaction is worth $186 million, according to local media estimates, and is the largest deal to date in Cambodia's banking space. Clifford Chance advised the purchasing consortium, which was represented by Rajah & Tann on matters related to Cambodian law.

BEA and LOLC bought the shares from Netherlands Development Finance Company, Belgian Investment Company for Developing Countries and Dragon Capital Group, which were advised by Mayer Brown JSM. The sellers also tapped Sciaroni & Associates as their Cambodian counsel.    

According to a media statement, PRASAC is Cambodia’s largest deposit-taking MFI, with more than $1.3 billion in assets and over $660 million in deposits.

Cambodian MFIs have attracted the interest of international investors, with several large mergers and acquisitions announced in recent years, reported The Phnom Penh Post. 

The Mayer Brown team was led by Ho Chi Minh City-based corporate and securities partner David Harrison. 

Related Articles

Appointments

SG boutique BTP welcomes corporate partners from Eng, Links

by Sarah Wong |

Singapore corporate boutique BTPLaw has hired Lynn Ariele Soh and Leeza Lee as partners. Soh was most recently a director at Eng & Co, the Singapore member firm of PwC Legal, while Lee was a managing associate at Linklaters’ Hong Kong office.

Features

COVER: Innovation Unleashed

by Ranajit Dam |

It has been barely a year since generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) entered the mainstream, and since then, it has swiftly and comprehensively captured the imaginations of business leaders and the public like no other emerging technology till date. Companies realise that if they don’t get on board now, they risk getting left behind.

Features

BRIEFS: Foreign Firms Recalibrate China Strategy as Environment Toughens

by Sarah Wong |

International law firms operating in China have been mired in a crisis of confidence following a series of grim news. In the latest signal of market dismay, Magic Circle firms Linklaters and Clifford Chance trimmed associate headcounts in China and Hong Kong as a result of the weaker economic environment.