On the heels of the bid by the Ansa McAL Group for control of Banks Holdings Ltd (BHL) comes word that the T&T-based conglomerate has already bought BWPL Holdings Ltd, the second largest shareholder in BHL.
That deal, which was finalised on October 16, gives Ansa McAL 8,446,546 common shares—approximately 13 per cent of BHL’s issued share capital. The group also owns nearly 15,000 shares through its wholly-owned subsidiary Ansa McAl (Barbados) Ltd. The company has not revealed how much it paid for BWPL Holdings.
Dominic Hadeed, owner of Blue Waters Products Ltd, resigned as chairman of BWPL Holdings on the day that its sale to Ansa McAL was completed.
The conglomerate is making its offer to acquire BHL through AM Caribbean Development Ventures Ltd, a subsidiary set up solely for that purpose. Its offer to BHL shareholders $5.20 per share is the approximate fair market value of the shares as determined by BHL’s financial adviser, KPMG. The offer, totalling a $337.2 million, is an improvement on the $4 a share offer from Brazilian beverages giant Ambev, which is also vying to take over the Barbados company.
Ambev, through its subsidiary SLU Beverages, currently owns just over 40 per cent of BHL. Its takeover offer expires on Monday at 3 pm.
However, at least one BHL shareholder is lobbying for both offers to be rejected. Dennis Clarke, a retired Barbadian trade unionist, has expressed his opposition to the planned take over of the island’s largest beverage manufacture by outside investors.
He told a Barbados newspaper it could lead to further retrenchment in the private sector at a time when the country is already grappling with high unemployment. Clarke said he is also concerned about what a take over would mean for small shareholders in BHL and he hopes the company can remain in Barbadian hands
He said he did not want BHL to go the way of the former Barbados National Bank and Barbados Shipping & Trading, which are now owned by T&T conglomerates.
BHL owns Banks (Barbados) Breweries Ltd, Barbados Bottling Company Ltd and Barbados Dairy Industries Ltd. Its range of beverages includes leading international brands produced under license such as Coca-Cola, Sprite and Guinness and originals like Frutee, Tiger Malt, Pinehill juices and milks and Banks Beer.
Acquisition of the company will give Ansa McAL control of every major beer brand produced in the English-speaking Caribbean, adding to a portfolio that currently includes Carib, Stag, Mackeson and Red Stripe.