The takeover of Berger Paints across the Caribbean by Trinidad’s ANSA McAL Limited is now complete. Continue Reading →
Sandals CEO Adam Stewart told Bloomberg News that the hotel chain is on an expansion drive and is currently seeking help from international banks to finance this growth. Continue Reading →
Construction firm Kier will take a £73m hit in its full-year results after taking the decision to close its Hong Kong and Caribbean businesses, it revealed late June 2017.
The firm is set to close its Caribbean business following the agreement of a final account with an unnamed client on what Kier called “a challenging project”, which is expected to complete “within the next three months”.
In total, the closure of the Caribbean business will have cost Kier £79m, including £23m last year and £56m this year.
Kier said that the moves to close the businesses fit into a wider programme of “portfolio simplification” that it has undertaken since the middle of 2015. This has resulted in it concentrating more on its regional building, infrastructure and housing projects.
Source: Telegraph
Jamaica Producers Group Limited (JP) has announced that it has entered into an agreement to transfer its shares in Mavis Bank Coffee Factory Limited (Mavis Bank) to Specialty Coffee Investments Company Limited (SCI). SCI is acquiring the shares in Mavis Bank from both JP Tropical Group Limited, a subsidiary of JP, and Scotts Preserves Limited, a subsidiary of Pan Jamaican Investment Trust Limited, who each own fifty percent of the company.
At the same time, Pan Jamaican Investment Trust Limited (PJAM) has announced that its subsidiary Scotts Preserves Limited (Scotts) has entered into an agreement to transfer its shares in Mavis Bank Coffee Factory Limited (Mavis Bank) to Specialty Coffee Investments Company Limited (SCI). SCI is acquiring the shares in Mavis Bank from both Scotts and Jamaica Producers Group Limited, who each own fifty percent of the company.
In commenting on the alignment of two of the largest financial institutions in the Caribbean, both CEOs were equally optimistic. Ravi Tewari CEO of Guardian stated that the move is a very positive development and holds a great opportunity for shareholders, clients and employees; while NCB’s CEO Patrick Hylton reiterated that the merger was in line with their stated intentions to grow through mergers and acquisitions. Continue Reading →
Liberty Global To Buy Cable And Wireless Communications For US$5.3b (or about 78.04 pence per CWC share).
Cable & Wireless, which has more than six million subscribers, offers pay-television, Internet, landline phone and wireless service—the so-called “quad play”—in the Caribbean, Panama, Monaco and the Seychelles, according to its website. (WSJ)
The deal represents a multiple of 10.7 times Cable & Wireless Communications’ adjusted annual earnings before interest, depreciation, taxes and amortization, after taking into consideration cost synergies, according to a statement. (Bloomberg) Continue Reading →
GraceKennedy Limited (GK) advised on October 16, 2015 that after its initial announcement in May of this year regarding the planned divestment of its shares in subsidiary, Hardware & Lumber, and follow up announcement in June, that it had entered into a conditional agreement for the sale of the shares with Greystone Equity Partners Inc., or nominee, GK has advised that the main conditions of the transaction have now been met and the transaction will therefore be proceeding to closing. The sale is anticipated to be completed by the end of the year.
Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL) announced on October 16, 2015, its planned roll-out of a new technology platform, IFLEX, for its sports betting operations. The significant investment is being implemented in conjunction with SVL’s technology partner for sports betting – INTRALOT. Implementation date is slated for October 20, 2015.
This will include a huge jump in betting options and leagues, combined with live betting throughout events. SVL further advised that the IFLEX betting platform project is worth over US$1,000,000 and will see investment in a state-of-the art, innovative, robust and high performance betting solution that meets the growing demands of the international gaming industry.
Desnoes & Geddes Limited (DG) has advised that at a meeting of the Board of Directors of DG held on October 12, 2015 the following directors were unanimously appointed to the board with effect from October 12, 2015
- Messrs. Eugene Ubalijoro, Radovan Sikorsky, Andrea Vogliazzo, Stefano Cavenati, Juan Luis Barrios, Wilbert Raaijmakers and Hemmo Parson.
Immediately after the appointment of the Heineken nominated directors the following directors tendered their resignation with immediate effect
- Messrs. Jed Dryer, Renato Gonzales, Noel daCosta, Cedric Blair, Jaime Grana, Bruce Kidner and Ms. Cristina Diezhandino.
Cedric Blair who is also the CEO will remain in that capacity until further advised. Mr. Bruce Kidner is the Chief Financial Officer, and he will remain in that capacity until further advised.
Based on this JSE release it is obvious that the CEO and CFO have now been removed from the board.
The Board of Directors of Desnoes & Geddes Limited will meet on Monday October 12, 2015 when the Diageo appointed directors will tender their resignations and new directors nominated by Heineken will be appointed and subsequently proposed for re-election at the Annual General Meeting, which was originally scheduled for November 3, 2015 and will now be re-scheduled for a date to be determined by the directors at the meeting scheduled of Monday October 12, 2015.
by hunterseakerhk
If everything goes as planned, Digicel will soon be blocking all ads by big online advertising networks such as Google, Facebook and Yahoo, across all its markets in the Caribbean.
Digicel argues are that
- the advertisements are a strain on their network,
- ads slow down the experience for people on their network and as such they want to provide the best experience by reducing the need for a lot of these ads to load, and
- they would also be helping their customers as these ads use as much as 10% of a customer’s data plan. Wow. Continue Reading →
JMMB has advised that through its Dominican Republic subsidiary, JMMB Holding Company Limited, has obtained regulatory approval for the acquisition of ninety percent (90%) of the shares of Banco Ahorro y Credito Rio (Banco Rio).
Banco Rio is a savings and loans bank, in accordance with the Financial and Monetary Law of the Dominican Republic (Ley No. 183-02: Ley Monetaria y Financiera de la Republica Dominicana). They are licenced to provide consumer loans; loans to small and medium enterprises (SMEs); commercial loans; credit lines; credit cards, cambio services; savings accounts and certificates of deposit.
“This acquisition serves as another key step in JMMB’s strategy of building out an integrated financial services business model in the Dominican Republic (DR) market. In particular, for all current and prospective JMMB and Banco Rio clients in the DR, this acquisition will pave the way for them to access an even more diversified bundle of financial solutions (through banking and investments), that will serve to achieve their financial goals and objectives at every stage of their life,” states JMMB in its report.
Air Jamaica - Soaring to new heights
Jamaica’s Norman Manley International Airport, based in Kingston is being divested by the government. The airport is currently going through a bidding process and a heavy-weight group of investors are one of the forerunners to run the airport. Continue Reading →