PBS successfully raises US$41.5M
Productive Business Solutions (PBS), subsidiary of Musson Ltd has successfully raised US$41.5 million, making this the largest Initial Public Offering (IPO) transaction performed in Jamaica.
The deal, which offered both ordinary and preference shares between the period of July 5 to 26, was closed by regional investment firm NCB Capital Markets, which acted as co-arranger, lead broker and underwriter for the company.
PBS will now apply to the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) for listing of its ordinary shares and its preference shares on the USD and JMD main markets respectively. An application for supplemental listing will also now be made to the Barbados Stock Exchange (BSE) for the shares to be listed on the International Securities Market.
The multi-billion-dollar deal involved US$21.5 million in ordinary shares at a price of US$0.55 translating to some 39,090,909 ordinary shares being issued to the public and reserved applicants. J$2.6 billion in preference shares were also available at a price of $100 per share, offering a tax free dividend to local investors of 9.75 per cent per annum.
“PBS has impressive access to regional markets and deep associations with high-performing technology brands like Xerox, Oracle and Dell,” said Herbert Hall, NCB Capital Markets assistant vice-president – Investment Banking. “The company not only has a diverse customer base of over 12,000 accounts, but also product and service offerings which augurs well for investors.”
PBS has distribution rights for Xerox in 14 countries making it the largest distributor of Xerox in the Western Hemisphere. The company’s distribution spans multiple industries, inclusive of banking, insurance, telecommunications, utilities, manufacturing, distribution, mining, graphic communications, business process outsourcing and education.
Revenue for the financial year ending December 2016 stood at US$171.1 million and is expected to continue to grow on the back of acquiring a licence to start distributing Xerox’s products and services in Colombia, which has a GDP of US$292 billion, approximately the size of all of PBS’s current territories.
NCB Capital Markets is the wealth, asset management and investment banking arm of the NCB Financial Group, offering a suite of investment and brokerage solutions accessible by both individual and corporate clients. It has a presence in Barbados, the Cayman Islands and Trinidad & Tobago.