THE deal struck between commercial furniture manufacturer Jamaica Fibreglass Products Limited (JFP) Limited and Trinidadian office supply company Total Office 2006 Limited is still underway and is expected to be completed by mid-year, GK Capital’s Vice-President of Investor Relations Ryan Strachan said in an update.

Roughly a year ago, JFP Limited and Total Office entered an arrangement for JFP to become the manufacturing arm of Total Office while Total Office will become the regional distribution chain for JFP. The deal, which is expected to be lucrative for both parties, had an initial closing date of July 2023.

“The deal is still on. There are some final steps; it’s just that these business deals can sometimes take a little longer than expected, in addition to the fact that it is a multi-jurisdictional transaction,” Strachan told the Jamaica Observer. GK Capital is the lead advisor in the strategic partnership recently formed between JFP and the Trinidad and Tobago-based Total Office (2006) Limited.

The ongoing transaction involves a mix of debt, cash and equity as consideration. Equity-wise, both companies are expected to purchase a maximum of 30 per cent shareholding in the other company. Total Office is not currently a publicly listed company but the latest trade notifications on the Jamaica Stock Exchange for JFP Limited state that on November 15th some 29,955,968 shares traded, with the stock closing marginally down at $1.42.

As at June 2023 Total Office sat as the largest shareholder in JFP, followed by JKZ Limited and Richard Sirgany. JFP’s audited results are still pending but up to September 2023 JKZ Limited replaced Total Office as the largest shareholder in the company. Total Office has a total of 108,250,819 shares in the company and holds the fourth-largest position.

“There have been some disclosures to date about Total Office’s stake in JFP. If there has been no disclosure about JFP’s stake in Total Office, chances are the deal hasn’t been completed yet,” Strachan said without divulging further details of the transaction.

“But as far as timeline, I think it would be reasonable to say six months from now. That’s a very conservation timeline but [this is] just to ensure that there are no further delays” he added.

JFP is a contract furniture manufacturing company that produces a wide array of furnishings and equipment for government agencies, restaurants, and the hospitality industry in Jamaica.

Total Office Group, on the other hand, is a stationery and office equipment supplier with a distribution network spanning 14 Caribbean territories. On completion of the deal both companies will continue to operate independently, JFP said in a market filing.

In addition to being named the lead advisor in the strategic partnership, GK Capital has also been appointed as an advisor to Total Office and is in the process of evaluating strategic, capital-raising opportunities for the company in the Jamaican market.

Strachan has hinted at an upcoming initial public offering (IPO) for Total Office Group.

Total Office formally established a presence in Jamaica in 2019 when Steelcase Inc appointed the company as their exclusive representative in the country. It later developed relations with CEO of JFP, Metry Seaga and later formed a distribution partnership with the company in June 2022 with assistance from GK Capital.

GK Capital was also the lead arranger and broker for JFP’s IPO in March 2022, which was oversubscribed.

STRACHAN…as far as timeline, I think it would be reasonable to say six months from now