By Al Edwards, Business Co-ordinatorTHE LONG-awaited offer for sale of Dyoll Group shares by FINSAC opened yesterday with the general insurance operator holding an investor's briefing at the Courtleigh Hotel, New Kingston. These shares are offered for purchase by the existing shareholders of Dyoll.
Dyoll negotiated a rehabilitative program with FINSAC in 1997, and this led to an agreement under which FINSAC invested in 16,144,254 ordinary shares in Dyoll. This now means that Dyoll will be among the first of those companies, which had been a part of the intervention and rehabilitation programmes of FINSAC to be returned to its original shareholders. FINSAC is selling all of its shareholding in Dyoll to existing shareholders of Dyoll with the offer representing 26.5 per cent of the issued ordinary share capital of Dyoll.
The opening date of the offer is December 1st, 2003 and the closing date is December 12,2003.
The share price is J$8.46 per share and any person registered in the register of members of Dyoll or in the records of the Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD) as the holder of any of the issued ordinary stock units of Dyoll as at November 13,2003 other than and excluding FINSAC is entitled to the shares being offered.
The shares are being apportioned among and allocated by way of an offer for sale to shareholders, on the basis that each shareholder shall be allocated 1 Offer Share for every 2.77 shares held in Dyoll Group Ltd. on November 13, 2003.
Pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Dyoll, FINSAC and Dehring, Bunting & Golding (DB&G) earlier this year, a due diligence investigation and valuation of Dyoll and its subsidiaries, its financial position, affairs and business was conducted .
In order to take up the offer of shares, prospective purchasers should fully complete and sign the Form, 'Application for Offer Shares Provisionally Allotted to Stockholder(s)' and deliver it before 4.00 p.m. on December 12, 2003 to any branch of NCB, along with a manager's cheque, crossed 'Not Negotiable' and payable to 'DB&G Ltd. Dyoll Group Share Offer, for the full purchase price for the shares being applied for. One may apply for excess shares but the number of shares applied for must be paid in full at the time the application is made.
Speaking to The Gleaner at yesterday's investor briefing, Dyoll's Chairman Mr. Christopher Bovell said: "We are very happy to bring this share offer to a conclusion before the time that was set. We are paying off the balance that we owe FINSAC which is approximately $20 million. It took us a little while to arrive at the share price with FINSAC because the share price kept going up.
"We think this share price of $8.46 is a good deal for the shareholders which is about $1.50 less than the price presently quoted on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. Any shareholder buying shares that are allocated will make a $1.50 on each share that they have purchased. I also feel this is a good deal for FINSAC because they acquired their shares for $2.30.
Explaining the rise in Dyoll's share price, Mr. Bovell said: "I think one of the reasons is because there isn't a large total shareholding, it's a fairly small number of shareholders (2,000) with the capital being pretty small. Insurance companies are very popular with investors at the moment and they possibly see that Dyoll will be a company that will be moving ahead and that other companies might be interested in merging with or acquiring us. So they see the shares as having a value from that point of view as well as its intrinsic value. The equity is half a billion dollars right now and we are making a reasonable profit."
Dyoll shares last sold on the Jamaica Stock Exchange for $10.15.
