Janashakthi Limited has blamed the Middle East conflict for forcing it to pre-market its initial public offering and pre-commit allocations, in a market filing issued after the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) ordered the company to address criticism of its IPO allotment process.
The clarification, dated April 24 and published Friday, follows market participants labelling the Rs. 5 billion share offer an “initial public placement” rather than a true public offering. JXG’s IPO had allocated 243 million of 500 million shares — 48.6 percent — to strategic investors on a preferential basis, with critics noting the allocation basis had not been disclosed in the prospectus.
“When approval was sought for the IPO in or around early February 2026, market sentiment was hugely positive,” Janashakthi told the CSE. “However, following finalisation of the IPO, there was a drastic shift in market sentiment due to the ongoing events in Middle East, leading to grave concerns on the eventual success of the IPO.”
The company said it was “compelled to proactively premarket the issue, particularly with local and foreign investors,” and that those investors made firm commitments only on the basis of “reasonable assurances of receiving allocations based on their precommitments.” Janashakthi said it acted “within the Listing Rules of the Colombo Stock Exchange.”
The CSE’s request for a public explanation marks an unusual exercise of its listing authority to force transparency around a disputed IPO process. Market sentiment had turned in late March and April after the Iran-Israel war drove Brent crude above $100 a barrel and prompted heavy foreign outflows from Colombo equities.
Janashakthi described the offering as the largest IPO on the CSE in 14 years. The company did not disclose the identities of the strategic investors who received the preferential block, nor the precise terms of the pre-commitment arrangements.
