Cari-Med Group Limited is considering going public via an initial public offering (IPO) and list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) among a range of financing options as the diversified distributor contemplates and explores other possibilities for its continued growth.

Cari-Med recently appointed NCB Capital Markets Limited (NCBCM) as its lead broker and MH&CO, attorneys-at-law as its professional legal advisor. NCBCM’s parent company NCB Financial Group was selected as the financing partner in 2019 for its US$46-million ($6-billion) distribution centre spanning 258,000-square-foot in Bernard Lodge, St Catherine. MH&CO has arranged various IPOs such as MPC Caribbean Clean Energy Limited, Sagicor Select Funds Limited and The Limners and Bards Limited with its managing partner Matthew Hogarth being a former JSE director.

“Cari-Med has always been guided by the ethos that it makes commercial decisions on an ‘as-needed basis’. Ultimately, our decision to float an IPO would be guided by the said ethos and the professional advice that we receive. We are also cognisant of the fact that any IPO and listing on the JSE would be subject to the approval, or non-objection of, the relevant regulators,” said chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer Glenford Christian in a press release.

Cari-Med Group (formerly Cari-Med Limited) was incorporated on September 3, 1985 and launched in 1986 as a small pharmaceutical distribution company with three employees including founders Glenford and Marva Christian. The company ended up representing international brands such as GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis, Merck-Sharp, AstraZeneca, Abbott and Bayer.

After its first decade of operation, Cari-Med expanded into the fast-moving consumer goods segment which saw it representing brands such as P&G, Purina, Lysol, Harpic, Gillette, Duracell, Wrigley, Scotch Brite, and Ensure. It subsequently launched its hospital and medical equipment division in 2002 which represents brand such as GF Health Products, Mindray, Welch Allyn, Victus and Advanced Instrumentations.

Cari-Med restructured in 2020 which saw companies owned by the Christians falling under the Cari-Med Group which became the parent company of the different companies in the group. The company’s website lists Cari-Med Distributors, Kirk-FP Limited, and Cari-Med International as companies in the group.

The board currently consists of Glenford and Marva Christian, Dennis Grant, Lanna Bennett, Gregory Christian, Huntley Dilworth, Sonia Stewart-Gordon, Harry Smith, Minna Israel, and Clement Hugh Lloyd “Jimmy” Lawrence. Former directors also include Howard Mitchell and Dr Christopher Tufton.

Companies Office of Jamaica documents state that the company has an authorised share capital of 300,000 ordinary shares and 209,500 shares as issued for $1 per share. Glenford is listed as owning 77,700 shares while Marva owns 31,800 shares. Adams Distributors and Cargill Holdings Inc became shareholders in May 2012 with 40,000 shares and 60,000 shares, respectively. Cargill Holdings is a St Lucian international business company (IBC) which was incorporated on the same day it became a shareholder in Cari-Med, while Adams Distributors is a Jamaican company with retail merchandise listed as its core activity. Adams Distributors is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cargill Holdings.

Glenford and Marva are listed as shareholders in Cari-Med International along with Kirk Distributors Limited while Kirk-FP is owned by St Lucian IBC Federated Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc. Cari-Med also owns the former Claro Building in New Kingston which has been leased to Sutherland Global which employs over 1,200 persons at the location.

If Cari-Med Group listed on the JSE, it would become one of the few pharmaceutical distributors which have gone public. Medical Disposables and Supplies Limited and Indies Pharma Jamaica Limited listed in December 2013 and August 2018, respectively, with RA Williams Distributors Limited considering listing as well. RA Williams also added Douglas Lindo, Richard Downer and Dr Tonoya Borrows as independent directors to its board recently.