SHAREHOLDERS of Sagicor Investments Jamaica Limited at yesterday’s Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) unanimously voted in favour of the proposal to exchange their ordinary shares in Sagicor Investments for ordinary shares in Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited in accordance with a court-approved scheme of arrangement. Accordingly, shareholders will receive 1.8 Sagicor Group shares for each Sagicor Investments’ share owned.

The EGM, held at Sagicor Group’s head office in New Kingston, marks the second phase of the move to reorganise Sagicor’s Jamaican operations, which commenced late last year.

Richard Byles, president and CEO of Sagicor Group Jamaica, says “Efficiencies and synergies are a vital part of our future success. We thank shareholders for endorsing this action and the Board welcomes them as new shareholders of Sagicor Group Jamaica.”

The reorganisation process began with a court-approved Scheme of Arrangement, where Sagicor Life Jamaica Limited’s shareholders voted in favour of the exchange of shares to Sagicor Group. Sagicor Life was subsequently delisted and the new company, Sagicor Group, listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange. The holding company, Sagicor Group, is now the parent of Sagicor Life and its main operating subsidiaries. When the reorganisation is complete, it will result in a more efficient capital structure and align Sagicor Group’s organisational structure to meet the requirements of the new omnibus legislation for diversified financial services groups that include deposit-taking institutions.

Donovan Perkins, President and CEO of Sagicor Investments, welcomed the vote by shareholders and indicated that “This is a very important step in readying Sagicor Group for its proposed acquisition of RBC Jamaica and its integration with Sagicor Bank. There is substantial work to be done once regulatory approval is received. In the interim, we continue to work on preparations to welcome our new Team, and serving our new customers.

Once the process is completed, Sagicor Investments will be delisted from the JSE and the newly issued Sagicor Group shares listed by introduction on the Stock Exchange shortly thereafter.

The day-to-day operations of Sagicor Group Jamaica Limited and its subsidiaries will not be affected by this legal re-structuring exercise and employees, policyholders, customers and other stakeholders will not in any way be affected by the transaction.