WHILE its aim to list on one or several of the exchanges in the world’s largest finance centres has shifted to a medium-term objective, GraceKennedy Ltd indicates that it is working on sensitising the international investment community about the company’s innate value.

Group CEO Don Wehby told the Jamaica Observer that extensive work has been done to identify preferred exchanges. In addition, he stated, “the executive has started to formally engage the international investment community to introduce the company to the leading global investment managers and share our historical performance and plans for the future”.

The food-focused conglomerate, which distributes its own manufactured products and other brands in more than 40 countries worldwide, achieved revenues of $77 billion in the 2014/15 fiscal year. Included in the group is a financial services division – inclusive of an investment advisory service – and a commercial bank.

Preferred exchanges being considered for listing are the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, the London Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, the company head said.

The considered advantages of listing by IPO in these markets, Wehby told the Business Observer, include access to larger capital flows and greater liquidity for shareholders.

Additionally, he stated, “we believe we will attract higher trading multiples (price-to-earnings and price-to-book ratios) and so increase shareholder value”.

Further, the group CEO said, listing by IPO would provide increased visibility and market acceptance with potential new customers or partners; and introduce the option of leveraging increased business status.

The company’s value proposition to investors is based on its vision to become a global consumer group he asserts, a vision defined by reaching targets of 15 per cent of revenue from three different continents (North America and the Caribbean, Europe and Africa); 50 per cent of profits derived outside of Jamaica; and strong relationships with multinational companies including Western Union International and Arizona Beverages.

“As a truly global consumer group, investors in GraceKennedy will also benefit from positive brand image associated with our product brands and Brand Jamaica; strong potential for some Grace products to crossover from the ethnic category to mainstream,” Wehby said.

He added that GK’s projected market capitalisation categorises GK as a medium-sized company which is attractive for investors. Lastly, international investors can participate in the future growth of the company’s Financial Services Group, which is positioned to become a leading player in the English-speaking Caribbean region, he said.

“At my various meetings with investors and stakeholders, I regularly share that GraceKennedy is an international food business with its headquarters in Jamaica. In turn, the diaspora community has consistently expressed an interest in making direct investments in the GraceKennedy Group. For that reason, we selected exchanges where we have a strong connection to the Jamaican Diaspora and where our products are already well known,” Wehby noted.

In the past, the group CEO has noted that GK stock was undervalued on Caribbean exchanges where the company was trading at around half its book value.

He said that based on this, the company began looking outward for markets with “depth and volume” to unlock shareholder value and gain access to international investors.

The stock traded at $81.52 each on the Jamaican Stock Exchange on Monday. Total market capitalisation was $27 billion.