Jamaican conglomerates Jamaica Producers Group Limited (JP) and PanJam Investment Limited (PanJam) have announced that they will merge their operations.
The arrangement, which is subject to the approval of the shareholders of both companies and the relevant regulators, will result in PanJam acquiring JP’s operating assets in exchange for JP taking a 34.5 per cent interest in PanJam.
Post-transaction, PanJam, which will ultimately hold the combined businesses, will be renamed Pan Jamaica Group Limited.
Meanwhile, Jamaica Producers will emerge as the largest shareholder of the Pan Jamaica Group, with its shares in the group being its principal operating asset.
The transaction is expected to be completed within the first quarter of 2023.
Both the renamed Pan Jamaica Group and JP will remain listed on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
The combined heft of JP and PanJam is expected to deliver significant value for all shareholders through a strong and diverse portfolio of businesses in Jamaica, but also on a global scale, the companies said in a joint press release on Monday, November 21, 2022.
The new Pan Jamaica Group will have substantial holdings in real estate and infrastructure, specialty food and drink manufacturing, agri-business, financial services and a global services network of interests in hotels and attractions, business process outsourcing, shipping, logistics and port operations.
JP and PanJam operate businesses that have been tested over time and always come out stronger. With a joint balance sheet of over $100 billion in assets, we will have the scale to be more formidable, more global and more resilient," said JP Group CEO Jeffrey Hall.
This is not JP's first opportunity to partner with PanJam.
"We achieved great commercial success for shareholders in our joint investment in Mavis Bank Coffee Company. We also experienced, first-hand, our compatibility around our shared commitment to integrity, the seriousness of purpose, nation-building and shareholder returns," Hall added.
Meanwhile, PanJam’s CEO, Joanna Banks, stated: “PanJam has done exceptionally well by building great partnerships with like-minded entities. The proposed business combination represents the creation of the quintessential Jamaican conglomerate, a geographically and operationally diversified company focused on value creation for all stakeholders through investment in key sectors of the global economy.
She added: "Our internal analysis points to a future that we are all excited about – one in which our combined enterprises become the regional investment vehicle and investor of choice.”
The expanded Pan Jamaica Group will be led by JP’s current CEO, Jeffrey Hall, who will hold the position of CEO and Executive Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Banks will hold the position of President of Pan Jamaica Group.
Meanwhile, Pan Jam's executive chairman Stephen Facey will serve as Chairman of the new group's board.
Charles Johnston, JP’s chairman, Hall and Alan Buckland, JP’s current chief financial officer, will join the new board.
Both JP and PanJam have long legacies of investing in and contributing to the growth of Jamaica. JP, founded as a co-operative of banana growers over 90 years ago, has re-positioned itself as a multinational group of companies, with a strong footprint not only in Jamaica through its port operations at Kingston Wharves Limited and its agricultural holdings and food businesses but also globally, through its European juice holdings, shipping line and global logistics businesses.
PanJam has invested in Jamaica for close to 60 years. It has an expansive real estate portfolio comprised of high-end commercial and hospitality properties and is a well-known leader in real estate management and development. It is also a successful private equity investor with actively-managed and strategic holdings in an array of speciality food manufacturing and distribution, hospitality and business process outsourcing providers.
PanJam has a significant footprint in the financial services industry through its 30.2 per cent stake in Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited.