Milverton Reynolds, managing director of the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ), on Monday July 4 announced the successful completion of the sale of the Petroleum Company of Jamaica Ltd (PETCOM), a wholly owned subsidiary of the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ), to Phoenix Fuels & Accessories Limited, a local petroleum retailing company.

The documents to complete the transaction were signed on Thursday, June 30, 2016, at the offices of the DBJ on Oxford Road in New Kingston.

The proceeds of sale are US$19 million ($2.3 billion) and involve the transfer of 100 per cent of the shares of PETCOM and real estate assets owned by the PCJ (but used or operated by PETCOM) to the purchaser, the DBJ outlined.

Reynolds, the DBJ’s representative on the PETCOM negotiating team, was quoted in the release announcing the sale that the process was concluded in a relatively short period after the commercial close.

The agreement for the sale of PETCOM to Phoenix Fuels was signed on Friday, April 29.

The PETCOM privatisation opportunity was advertised by the DBJ from April 26, 2015, and the bid submission deadline was extended twice – from June 30, 2015 to July 14, 2015, and subsequently to August 18, 2015. Following evaluation of the bids, Phoenix Fuels & Accessories Ltd was selected as the Preferred Bidder in November 2015.

The operation includes 24 Petcom-branded service stations and 14 liquid petroleum gas filling plants islandwide.

The Government’s negotiating team was led by Nerine Small, PCJ’s Senior Legal Counsel; while the PETCOM enterprise team was chaired by Erwin Jones. The negotiating team and enterprise team were supported by DBJ as secretariat and transaction managers, DunnCox as legal advisors, and Ernst & Young as strategic consultants.

Phoenix Fuels & Accessories Ltd was advised by GK Capital Management Ltd, and Vaccianna & Whittingham were its attorneys.