Financial advisory firm Mayberry Investments Limited yesterday denied media claims that it is leading a takeover of gaming company Supreme Ventures Limited (SVL).

Mayberry’s Executive Chairman Christopher Berry told a press conference called by his company at Liguanea Club in New Kingston that his company was disappointed with media reports of a “hostile” takeover.

“The main thing I am disappointed about in the coverage is that people are saying that it is a takeover. There is no takeover. That’s far from the reality,” Berry told journalists and shareholders attending the briefing.

But yesterday Berry explained that the information was mischievous as, instead of replacing seven directors of SVL there was an agreement yesterday to appoint three new directors to fill vacancies existing on the board. The three spaces were filled by three Mayberry appointees, including himself, Mayberry CEO Gary Peart and management consultant Ansel Howell.The Jamaica Observer reported on Saturday that SVL had confirmed that it had received correspondence from Mayberry for an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to pass a resolution to remove seven current members of the SVL board, including Chairman Paul Hoo.

In addition to Hoo, the other SVL directors that the ‘requisitioning members’ were reportedly seeking to remove were investment banker Peter Chin; businessman Richard Foreman; attorney-at-law John Graham; businessman Steven Hudson; telecommunications and information technology consultant Ian Moore; and accountant and former interim president and chief executive officer at SVL James Morrison.

Peart told the briefing that what has been happening is a continuation of a process which began in January 2010.

He explained that Intraloc Caribbean Ventures Limited (ICVL), which is owned by two entities — Intralot St Lucia (50.05 per cent) and Zodiac International (49.95 per cent) — owned 49.89 per cent of the ordinary shares of SVL.

“It was not a takeover then,” Peart remarked.

He noted that the more recent transaction took place earlier this month in which Zodiac International bought all of Intralot St Lucia’s shares in Intralot Caribbean Ventures.

“So Zodiac will move from having 49.95 per cent to 100 per cent of the shares in Intralot Caribbean Ventures,” Peart said.

He said that after the recent transaction was consummated, Zodiac International changed the name of its newly acquired interest from Intraloc Caribbean Ventures to Zodiac Caribbean Ventures, which controls SVL, and also proceeded to sell about 11 per cent of its shares to a variety of shareholders, including Mayberry West Indies, improving Mayberry’s shares from the two per cent it owned in 2010.

“So there were a lot of other people who participated and benefited from the sale of those shares,” Peart explained.

He noted that currently Zodiac International shares have fallen from the 49.89 per cent and the company now owns only approximately 38 per cent.

“As I said, this structure started in January 2010 and was not a takeover then, and we just continued the transaction. It is not a takeover now,” Peart added.