LRA hires Entrust as its negotiator
View(s):Suspended rating agency, Lanka Rating Agency (LRA) has hired the Entrust Group as its negotiator to strike a new deal with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), officials said.
“We signed up Entrust to negotiate LRA’s divestiture along with settle the extension of our licence. We aim to complete both processes by mid next month,” a LRA official told the Business Times. According to him, two foreign parties, one of which is the CARE Group are interested in buying LRA. He said CARE, the second largest rating agency in India, will initially extend technical support to LRA initially and them work towards investing in it.
One of three credit rating agencies operating in the country, LRA’s licence was suspended in March by the regulator over a conflict of interest issue in a rating report and Entrust has discussed this matter with SEC. The official said that Entrust has already submitted all documentation which was called for by the SEC, which barred LRA pursuant to the lapse of its registration in July LRA to carry on business as neither a Credit Rating Agency nor review ratings.