NCB Financial Group locked up the majority ownership in Guardian Holdings from as far back as May 2016, when they acquired 29.99 percent of the group’s shares, the maximum they could acquire without triggering a take bid clause that would require them to make an offer for all of the issued shares.
Funding the full offer, would have been a problem at the time and NCBFG would need Bank of Jamaica approval to do so which might not have been granted at that time. According to the offer document from the NCB Group to acquire up to 62 percent of the shares, “in May 2016 NCBFG acquired the entities which held the offeror’s shares from affiliates of Arthur Lok Jack, Imitaz Ahamad and International Finance Corporation. Pursuant to such transaction, Arthur Lok Jack, Imitaz Ahamad and their respective holding companies agreed that they would tender their respective shares in GHL to NCBFG upon NCBFG making a tender offer to all Guardian shareholders.”
Shares held by the two sellers are close to 22 percent of the issued shares of the Guardian Group which will be enough for NCB group to hold the majority of at least 32 percent. The price of US$2.35 is below the price the stock trades in Trinidad at, as such is not expected that many shareholders other than those mentioned above and a few other will be tendering shares.
NCB locked up Guardian from 2016
January 9, 2018 by
