Following the collapse of a deal with prominent casino operator Ravi Wijeratne, cash-strapped construction company MTD Walkers PLC is in advanced discussions with another investor to acquire the company. Reliable sources close to the company told The Sunday Morning Business on Friday (31) evening that discussions are ongoing in this regard and that the Board of Directors is likely to meet this week to discuss possible next steps. The identity of the investor is not available at the moment, and it is unclear if it is a local or foreign party. Earlier in the week, MTD Walkers said in a Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) filing that it had been informed by MTD Capital Berhad, its Malaysian holding company, that the latter would not pursue the transaction with Wijeratne. The official reason that had been provided in the disclosure is that there was “no positive development and/or progress on the transaction” since the deal was first announced to the CSE in September 2019. The proposed deal faced many challenges over a five-month period, particularly the severe opposition to it coming from creditors of MTD Walkers as its debts are yet to be settled. The most notable were two enjoining orders obtained by Commercial Bank of Ceylon and People’s Bank, preventing MTD Walkers from being taken over by Wijeratne. These two separate orders enjoined MTD Walkers or MTD Capital Berhad from going through with the transaction or any similar transaction without the approval of the two banks until all outstanding dues to the banks were settled. It remains to be seen if MTD Walkers would settle its outstanding debts before finalising a similar acquisition deal with another investor or risk similar legal challenges once again. On 9 September 2019, MTD Walkers in a stock exchange filing said Wijeratne had agreed to purchase a controlling stake of 90.78% of the company from its Malaysian parent MTD Capital Berhad. Wijeratne had agreed to purchase 152,183,583 shares held by the company’s parent through a voluntary offer to be made to all shareholders of the company. Wijeratne is the owner of Rank Holdings (Pvt.) Ltd., the company which operates the popular Star Dust and Casino Marina casinos in Colombo and is also engaged in hydro and wind power generation, infrastructure, and real estate development. MTD Walkers has suffered heavily due to the non-payment or delayed payment by the Government for State infrastructure projects carried out by the company and is severely in debt. Earlier this year, MTD Walkers in a CSE corporate disclosure announced its intention to transfer its fully owned subsidiaries – Walkers Shipyards Ltd., Northern Power Company Ltd., and Colombo Fort Heritage Company Ltd. – to its parent MTD Capital Berhad. However, this too failed as several State and private banks, to which MTD Walkers owed billions of rupees, obtained enjoining orders against this transfer.