National Development Bank (NDB) has disposed of its entire holding of 26,631,495 shares in Seylan Bank PLC at Rs. 104 per share — a transaction valued at approximately Rs. 2.77 billion — with media owner Rayynor Silva’s Phantom Investments emerging as the buyer, EconomyNext reported on Monday.

In a disclosure to the Colombo Stock Exchange, NDB described the sale as a strategy to “exit a non-strategic investment upon identifying a suitable opportunity.” A source close to the transaction told EconomyNext that the buying consortium between Phantom Investments and the bank was arranged by Asia Securities, and that the purchase takes Phantom’s holding in Seylan Bank to its maximum permissible limit.

The acquisition extends a sequence that began in October 2025, when Phantom Investments bought out the remaining five percent stake in Seylan Bank previously held by business mogul Dhammika Perera. That deal positioned Silva, owner of Asia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), as a strategic shareholder. Monday’s purchase from NDB cements that position at the regulatory ceiling for non-banking shareholders.

Following the transaction, Seylan Bank shares closed up 0.24 percent at Rs. 106.25, while NDB shares closed down 0.63 percent at Rs. 117.75 in the broader Monday session that saw the ASPI ease back from its record close.

The exit comes after a difficult period for NDB. The lender has been at the centre of a Rs. 13.2 billion fraud disclosed in March, prompting a CBSL-ordered forensic audit by an international firm, parliamentary scrutiny through COPF, and a Fitch downgrade to A-(lka) on franchise concerns. The CBSL has reassured depositors that their accounts remain safe while the bank has signalled portfolio rationalisation since the fraud disclosure.

It is the first Seylan Bank ownership transaction since Dhammika Perera’s exit, and is likely to draw fresh CBSL fit-and-proper scrutiny given Phantom’s now-maximum holding.

Sources: EconomyNext — Sri Lanka media owner’s firm buys NDB’s Seylan stake; EconomyNext — Sri Lanka stocks close down, banks lead turnover.