Hayleys exited from Lighthouse Hotels on the Colombo bourse yesterday selling its 27.3% stake in the company at Rs.60.50 per share with the EPF, ETF and the Sri Lanka Insurance Corporation believed to be the buyers although there was no formal announcement.

Analysts said that Hayleys which earlier this week took control of the Hotel Services PLC, owners of the Ceylon Continental Hotel, appeared to be following a strategy of exiting from investments where the returns on assets were considered unsatisfactory.

13.8 million Lighthouse was done yesterday between a low of Rs.60.50 and a high of Rs.80.25 losing Rs.18.50 to close at Rs.61.75 generating the day’s highest turnover of Rs.839.6 million.

"It was another day in which we saw a turnover of Rs.2.15 billion, slightly down from the previous day’s Rs.2.1 billion, although both indices were down – the All Share by 17.21 points (0.45%) and the Milanka by 11.89 points (0.27%),’’ Prashan Fernando of Acuity Stockbrokers said.

The big Lighthouse parcels were not done as crossings as the last traded price of the share was Rs.80.25 and crossings, according to Stock Exchange rules, cannot be done below at least 5% of the previous close.

As a result, yesterday’s big parcels were all done on the trading floor and some retailers too gained profit on price movements after the big trades brought the Lighthouse price down sharply," Fernando of Acuity said.

Other big contributors to turnover yesterday included JKH where over 1.8 million shares were done between Rs.169 and Rs.171 losing 75 cents to close at Rs.169. A crossing of 1.5 million shares at Rs.170 was among the trades.

Ceylon Theatres saw over 5 million shares traded between Rs.55 and Rs.57 gaining 50 cents to close at Rs.55.50 including a crossing of nearly 5 million shares at a price of Rs.56, brokers said.

Keells Hotels rights were heavily traded with nearly 24.1 million done between Rs.5.75 and Rs.7 gaining 50 cents to close at Rs.6 with a lot of retail play in the counter.

DFCC too gained 25 cents to close at Rs.181.50 on nearly 0.3 million shares done between Rs.181.50 and Rs.181.75.

Hayleys made a mandatory offer of Rs.21 per share for the remaining ordinary shares of 89.76 million not owned by them stating in an Stock Exchange filling that Green Care International Limited, a Nahil Wijesuriya company owning nearly 25% of Hotel Services, had extended an irrevocable undertaking that it will not be accepting the mandatory offer.