FRESH from raising US$50 million in a preference share offer, Sygnus Credit Investments (SCI) is now turning its attention to deploying the funds to finance a “pipeline of projects in Jamaica” including at least two acquisitions and an “impactful investment” in the energy sector with the first announcement expected in early January.

“There are at least two acquisitions and they will be impactful, bringing foreign currency inwards,” Jason Morris, chief investment officer and executive vice-president at Sygnus, told the Jamaica Observer in an interview earlier this week. He declined to say in which areas the acquisitions will take place.

But he said despite SCI only raising US$50 million across three classes of preference shares offer to the public, the funding need is actually higher given the investment opportunities available immediately to the company.

“We actually have a pipeline of US$75 million just in the Jamaican market alone that we need the funds to finance,” Morris pointed out to Sunday Finance. “And as you know, SCI as an investment company, once you raise capital and to deploy the capital then to grow and expand, you have to raise additional capital.”

SCI had targeted raising US$25 million in the preference shares offer that opened on November 20 and was scheduled to close on December 6, but upsized the offer to US$50 million, based on responses in the first few days and extended the opening to December 15.

Morris explained: “We thought that a raise of US$25 million was what the market could handle at one time and so we didn’t want to go beyond that in the first instance to raise a massive amount of capital and fail. The optics of that [failing to raise the targeted amount] is not good.”

“Given the history of how much we had raised in the local market, we were confident that we would get the funds if we targeted a US$25-million raise first rather than try to raise all the US$75 million that we wanted at once. But, after the deal was launched, in the first five days we got the US$25 million and so we said, ‘hey, if we attained our target that quickly when we were way below what we really wanted’, then we felt we could double the amount we were seeking and so we did and was successful.”

He said offering preference shares was a way to involve “the small man” more in the company.

“A lot of regular investors at more than one AGM indicated that they wanted to participate more but felt left out when bonds were offered because they were not able to participate because they had to be an accredited investor and asked for something which the small man could participate in,” he continued.

But having had success in raising the money, Morris said it’s time to put it to work.

“We have mandates that have to do with a number of companies that are publicly listed or some that will become public listed to execute on,” he said while being cagey about divulging too much information on the plans at the moment, citing non-disclosure agreements.

But he said the investments will be what he called “impact-focused” transactions related to the nation’s infrastructure while saying it is not roads, but more ICT type infrastructure.

“You see where the world is going now in terms of energy transformation and carbon footprint with people diversifying from the regular oil and gas,” he began, but again held back on how much to divulge now adding that he didn’t want to say much about the investment before the time is right.

Yet he hinted, “There are things that contribute to renewable energy and Tesla-type vehicles,” before stopping again. The suggestion is that the energy investment will be related to infrastructure for electric vehicles with the reference to “Tesla-type vehicles”.

“That infrastructure will allow the economy to be more resilient. We have capital and mandates to help finance these thing.”

Morris, however, said what he could tell Sunday Finance “that Sygnus itself will be doing something big in January,” promising that we will see what he is talking about in very short order.

That aside, he said the company is also raising US$100 million outside of Jamaica for projects “in the English-speaking Caribbean”. Already, from that US$100 million being sought, he said talks are far advanced for US$60 million, while the efforts to raise the other US$40 million are in the nascent stages.

And most of those funds he said will come back to Jamaica to be put in various sectors.

“Some of our money will definitely be seeking out women-led businesses and money that will help to build sustainability in our economy,” he said.