Jun 2017 Financial News

PBS seeks US$41.5M on JSE

Jun 30, 2017

PRODUCTIVE Business Solutions (PBS) Jamaica — previously Xerox Jamaica Ltd — is seeking to raise US$41.5 million ($5.43 billion) through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

The company has signed an agreement with NCB Capital Markets, which will serve as its lead broker and co-arranger for the IPO set to open July 5 and close on July 26.

The IPO is one of the largest the country has seen in decades with the company intended to raise US$21.5m from the sale of 39.1 million common shares at US$0.55 per share. PBS also intends to sell 25.8 million redeemable cumulative preference shares at $100 per share with a fixed rate of 9.75 per cent.

Common shares totalling 27.3 million or 69.7 per cent of the offer has been reserved for Portland in a strategic relationship between the two companies.

PBS Chairman PB Scott in the company's prospectus said the reserved entity are sophisticated investors/institutional investors with access to significant funding which will increase the likelihood of success of the IPO in addition to strengthening future business support for PBS.

Of the funds raised, US$8.7 million will be used by International Finance Corporation for its own purposes and US$32.8 million will be received by the company. The company intends to use its part of the proceeds for the repayment of short-term debt, working capital and to pay other expenses associated with the invitation, according to the prospectus.

“It would allow for the deepening of customer engagements, an expansion of its strategic partnerships with multinationals, and an increase in market share, revenue and profits,” the company stated.

PBS Jamaica is an associate company of Musson (Jamaica) Ltd — which is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary — and is part of the PBS Group of companies that distributes Xerox, Cisco and Oracle Products across the Caribbean and Central America.

The company was originally founded in 2001 as a division of Musson to acquire the business and assets of Xerox Corporation in Jamaica. Through a joint venture between Musson and Seprod Ltd, PBS expanded to the Dominican Republic, Aruba and Curacao in 2004 through the acquisition of subsidiaries of Xerox Corporation in those countries.

Since then, PBS has expanded into Cayman, Honduras and Belize. Plans are underway for Colombia and Suriname. It also has exclusive distribution rights for Xerox in some 14 countries, making it the largest distributor of Xerox in the Western Hemisphere.

The PBS Group employs 1,500 members of staff and operates in the USA, Caribbean and South America.

Source:
Jamaica Observer
Friday June 30, 2017

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business-report/pbs-seeks-us-41-5m-on-jse_103493?profile=1056