Jun 2016 Financial News

Portland JSX Limited set for seventh IPO in 2016

Jun 03, 2016

Portland JSX Ltd is set to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO), the seventh such to be made on the Jamaica Stock Exchange since the beginning of 2016.

The local market, with a world-beating appetite for equities which placed the exchange at number one for growth worldwide in 2015, has been gobbling up the offers, with most closing within a minute of opening.

The Portland JSX offer is slated for opening on June 8 and expected to close on June 22. A total of 111,818,182 ordinary shares are being offered at $ 11.00 each.

The company intends to raise $1.23 billion from the IPO which, if successful, will see the company listing on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The broker is Victoria Mutual Wealth Management.

Proceeds from the IPO will be invested in Portland Caribbean Fund II, according to VM Wealth Ltd.

PCF II is a private equity fund, which holds a portfolio of equity and/or debt securities of companies located in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Brokers state that PCF II, which started in July 2014, has raised US$136 million to date with a target of US$200-250 million. It also noted that previously Portland JSX did a successful private placement in October 2015, raising $1.7 billion from several local and regional institutional investors.

“To date, PCF II has made investments in three companies with several deals in the pipeline across multiple sectors. The Fund has investments in Panama Wind, a wind energy project in Panama; CFFI Ventures (Barbados) Inc (“CVBI”), an opportunity which resulted from the Cable & Wireless and Columbus Communications merger; and Clarien Group Limited (“CGL”) – the parent company of Clarien Bank Ltd (“CBL”) – a leading bank in Bermuda,” it was observed.

VM Wealth said PCF II will be managed by the same team that administered the successful first fund, AIC Caribbean Fund (“ACF” or “Fund I”), which invested US$162 million and has returned US$374 million to date.

The management team at PCF II consists of seasoned and experienced investors Robert Almeida, Joe Vescio and Doug Hewson.

Global private equity investors in PCF II include International Finance Corporation (IFC), European Investment Bank (EIB), German Development Bank (DEG), Export Development Canada (EDC), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC).

Robert Almeida, a managing partner and member of the investment committee, was quoted in a company release as saying, “Portland has been intimately involved in building successful companies in the Caribbean since 2002 and is recognised as a pioneer in generating opportunities in the Fund II’s target markets.”

Applications can be submitted at all VM Wealth Management offices. The prospectus is listed on the JSE website.

Source:
BY AVIA COLLINDER
collindera@jamaicaobserver.com
Business reporter
Jamaica Observer
Friday June 3, 2016

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Portland-JSX-Limited-set-for-seventh-IPO-in-2016_62711