NCB Capital Markets Limited (NCBCM), lead arranger for the TransJamaican Highway (TJH) initial public offer (IPO), has taken the decision in conjunction with the National Road Operating Constructing Company (NROCC) – the parent of TJH, to upsize the offer by an additional two billion shares.

This decision, the lead brokers has said, was taken based on the overwhelming demand seen and also stemming from efforts to ensure that a wide cross-section of investors get the opportunity to participate. The offer which opened on February 17 initially floated eight billion shares at J$1.41/US$0.10 per share equating to approximately $11.28 billion; however, last week the directors of NROCC reserved the right to increase the amount of shares on offer.

According to NROCC Managing Director Ivan Anderson, “Placing as many shares as possible in the hands of the Jamaican public was always the objective of the Government of Jamaica and with the overwhelming demand we have seen to date we have no choice but to upsize the offer.”

NCBCM Vice-President Investment Banking Herbert Hall indicated that the upsized offer represents an additional $2.82 billion worth of shares.

“The response from the investing public has been nothing short of overwhelming, and this largely shows that Jamaicans are eager to own viable, worthwhile assets that build and diversify their portfolios,” he said, while also noting that the upsize will result in a total of 10 billion shares being made available to the public, valuing some $14 billion.

Given the demand, NCBCM in its role as lead broker has decided that the offer will also close a week earlier than was outlined in the prospectus, that is, March 2, 2020 at 4:30 pm.

“Keeping the offer open to March 2 will be after payday for most Jamaicans and as such, interested investors will have the opportunity to participate,” Hall remarked.

“We are inviting interested persons to still apply, and certainly this upsize represents the opportunity for investors to do that… we appreciate that some persons may be waiting on payday to fund their applications, but those persons who do not have an investment account should need not wait until payday to open their accounts,” he further said.

The offer for sale of shares in TJH when complete is set to be the largest of its kind in Jamaica for which investors were asked to apply via NCBCM’s GoIPO and co-broker, JMMB’s MoneyLine.