The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) indicated this week that any local bidder would have received an additional five per cent on their grade during the recent process to select a preferred bidder for Petcom, a petroleum services provider.

Based upon this system, Phoenix Fuels & Accessories Limited emerged ahead of other bidders. No other Jamaican entity made it into the tender box.

The other bidders were Rubis Caribbean Holdings and Sol Investments Limited. One other Jamaican bidder, EDJ acquisitions, did not turn in its bid in time and was disqualified.

Other grades assigned were 80 per cent for bid price and 15 per cent for financing. On these counts, the DBJ said, Phoenix also came out ahead.

The Jamaican company is said to have offered the highest bid among offers ranging from US$14 million ($1.69 billion) to US$22 million ($2.65 billion).

Petcom is a wholly owned subsidiary of Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ). The operation includes 24 Petcom-branded service stations and 14 liquid petroleum gas filling plants islandwide.

It was assessed to be worth about $2 billion, with annual sales of $10.99 billion up to financial year 2012-13.

“The preferred bidder was selected based on the evaluation criteria contained in the Petcom RFP,” the DBJ outlined in a response to the Jamaica Observer, stating that the GOJ’s negotiating team has commenced negotiations with Phoenix Fuels & Accessories Limited in order to finalise the terms of the sale.

The DBJ said it was not yet ready to release the Information Memorandum and RFP document – which is expected to have updated information on the asset being sold – but would do so upon completion of the sale.