FirstCaribbean International Bank Jamaica in New Kingston. The bank's Barbadian parent company continues to deny persistent market speculation that it is buying RBTT. - File

Seven FirstCaribbean minority investors, who own 338,454 shares among them, have asked that the courts fix a price at which CIBC must acquire their shares, the bank announced at the close of the last offer round.

CIBC, through its subsidiary CIBC Cayman Investments Limited (CICL), had bought out Barclay's interest in First-Caribbean last year to gain more than 80 per cent ownership of the regional bank.

The mandatory offers now put its ownership at 91.52 per cent at the close of the latest offer, acquired at 1.6335 per share.

The bank said Monday that 6,190 minority investors with holdings of just under 129.4 million shares, had opted not to sell to CICL.

Having acquired 90 per cent of the shares in its first takeover and mandatory bids, the company was obligated under market rules to make another offer for full acquisition of the bank. Regulators across the markets in which the bank is listed had advised investors that they could legally force an offer from CIBC, but would have to file in Trinidad.

"Shareholders had the option pursuant to the Trinidad and Tobago by-laws of retaining their shares, selling their shares to CICL at the offer price of US$1.6335 cash per common share, or selling their shares to CICL at their fair value, as determined by a Trinidad and Tobago court through an appraisal-rights proceeding," said FirstCaribbean in a release.

"CICL has begun the process of taking up and paying for the shares of the 39 tendering shareholders and has engaged counsel to initiate the appraisal process within 60 days of the close of the election period, in accordance with Trinidad and Tobago law."

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