Buwaneka heads the capital markets practice group of the firm. He advises on all areas of corporate and commercial law with specialization in capital markets company law and corporate restructuring and has over 17 years of experience in advising local and international clients on many aspects of corporate and commercial law.

The company law related work Buwaneka advises on includes capital raising, corporate restructuring, corporate governance, amalgamations, liquidations and statutory compliances of companies.

He has extensive expertise and experience in capital markets related work and has advised on many initial public offerings, investments in listed entities, issuance of listed securities, secondary market transactions, takeovers and mergers, set up of unit trusts and set up of employee share ownership schemes in listed entities.

In addition to the company law and capital markets, Buwaneka frequently advises on general investment laws, trusts and general contract law. He has, over the years, also advised on various other areas of law including port and aviation, apartment ownership law, regulatory compliance in banking, finance and insurance industries, environment, sports law and laws relating to professional associations.

Work highlights

Buwaneka was part of the team at the firm that advised a stock exchange in Sri Lanka on the introduction and implementation of the delivery versus payment securities settlement system in Sri Lanka.

Buwaneka has advised on many initial public offerings and listing of shares including the initial public offering of a company that provides sustainability-focused apparel supply chain solutions with a workforce of over 18,000 across the globe, a multinational Human Resource Information System (HRIS) based business solutions provider, operating in the Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) space, a fully fledged emerging financial institute in non-banking financial institution (NBFI) sector with more than 44,417 customers across country with network of 8 branches, a well-diversified entity with investments in renewable and thermal power projects in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, the holding company of one of the leading hotel chain in Sri Lanka and a company providing energy solutions in solar, hydro and waste to energy covering a range of products and services and the listing of a pioneer company authorized to carry out Life and General Insurance business in Sri Lanka .

Buwaneka has advised an international financial institution that offers investment, advisory, and asset-management services to encourage private-sector development in less developed countries on many of its equity investments in Sri Lanka including its recent investment in a licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka that is regarded as the largest private bank in Sri Lanka in terms of net worth and capital and the investment in a licensed specialized bank serving the co-operative sector of Sri Lanka. Buwaneka has also advised a regional development bank focused on promoting social and economic development in Asia on its recent investment in one of the largest conglomerate companies in Sri Lanka.

Buwaneka was part of the team that advised a global top-tier private equity investment firm on its investment in a licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka, which also involved advising on the acquisition of a 70% ownership interest in a licensed commercial bank in Sri Lanka and advising on the first mandatory offer under the Company Takeovers and Mergers Code 1995 that involved an offer to acquire only a percentage of the shares held by other shareholders.

Other key capital markets related work that Buwaneka has advised on include advising a producer of some of the bestselling tea in Sri Lanka on the issuance shares by private placement to a lender pursuant to conversion of debt into equity, advised a company owned by the largest exporter of reconditioned Japanese vehicles to Sri Lanka on its investment in a Sri Lankan finance company which is the only finance company is Sri Lanka to have Japanese financial support, advising a global investment firm focused on the private equity, energy, infrastructure, and real estate asset classes. on its investment in the largest private healthcare provider in Sri Lanka, advising a Southeast Asia-based department store operator with stores across Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia on its acquisition of shares in one of the largest fashion retailing companies in Sri Lanka and advising a growth equity investment platform of a global private investment firm on its acquisition of shares in the largest private healthcare provider in Sri Lanka.

The key corporate restructuring work that Buwaneka advised on includes advising on the restructure of a group of companies that include da n investment holding Company that is now recognized as the leading investment Company in Sri Lanka for executing complex corporate restructuring investments and a manufacturer of leather products and advising on the amalgamation of a registered finance company which is a subsidiary of a licensed commercial bank with a registered finance company, largely focusing on real estate backed loans and leasing.

Buwaneka led the study conducted for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on the legal and regulatory framework applicable to Small and Medium Enterprises (“SME”) in Sri Lanka the legal and regulatory issues that impact SMEs.

With regard to unit trusts, Buwaneka advised Sri Lanka’s pioneer unit trust and wealth management companies on the set up of its High Yield Fund, Gilt Fund, Bank Fund and advised another leading investment bank in Sri Lanka that offers a comprehensive selection of integrated investment and capital market solutions on the set up of its Corporate Treasury Fund, Gilt Fund, High Yield Fund, Medium Risk Debt Fund and Investment Grade Fund.

Buwaneka is excellent and our go-to legal counsel in commercial law-related matters. He is responsive and accommodating. He is able to explain complex matters in layman’s terms which is very useful