Issa Financial Services Ltd. Chairman Mr. Lee Issa and Mr. Peter Bunting, Chairman of DB&G, (seated, from left) sign the Agreement for the acquisition of Issa Trust & Merchant Bank's shares by DB&G while directors from both companies look on approvingly. From left are Mrs. Angella Fowler, Mr. Glenn Lawrence, Mr. Paul Issa, (all from the House of Issa) followed by Mr. Mark Golding and Mr. Garfield Sinclair of DB&G. - Contributed DEHRING BUNTING & Golding (DB&G) has signed an agreement with Issa Financial Services Limited (IFSL), the owner of Issa Trust & Merchant Bank Limited (Issa Trust), to acquire the issued share capital of Issa Trust.
On completion of the agreement, Issa Trust will become a wholly owned subsidiary of DB&G, while IFSL will in exchange receive shares and a debenture issued by DB&G.
The transaction is subject to regulatory approval from the Bank of Jamaica (BoJ) and the Minister of Finance, and the due diligence exercise is successfully concluded, it is anticipated that Issa Trust will be amalgamated with DB&G Merchant Bank, another wholly owned subsidiary of DB&G
Speaking to The Gleaner yesterday DB&G's President, Garfield Sinclair said: There is currently a lot of speculation, but this deal is subject to the approval of the Bank of Jamaica and a due diligence exercise is yet to be concluded. It is not technically speaking a done deal. We are letting depositors at Issa Trust know that it is business as usual.
With the amalgamation of Issa Trust, we are looking for a seamless transition, with the merged entity providing us with a vehicle back into substantial lending both in Jamaican and United States dollars. The combined entity will have a capital base of $J570 million."
Mr. Sinclair added that the merged operations may well be conducted from Issa Trust's current premises located on St. Lucia Avenue, New Kingston.
Issa Trust's present managing director, Arthur Hudson will be taking a more active role with the House of Issa's hotel and motor vehicle interests as well as holding a seat on the new board together with the chairman of the House of Issa, Lee Issa.
The question remains, who will now head the amalgamated merchant bank?
Mr. Sinclair said: "We presently have an excellent cadre of candidates from both camps. It may well be the case that we pick senior managers from both DB&G and Issa Trust to run the this bank that now has critical mass. We are currently evaluating a number of candidates."
