JUST mere days after it was announced that iCreate was taken out of receivership, the digital media company is now intending to sue Sagicor Investments Jamaica for the impact caused from its previous legal action.

This was announced by Chairman, President and CEO Tyrone Wilson at a press conference held on Friday at AC Hotel Kingston, where he sought to give context to the receivership which he said was invalid. It is why Wilson has indicated he will take legal action for iCreate to receive compensation for shelved projects and deals that it was seeking to execute, but couldn’t because of Sagicor Investments’s action.

Kenneth Tomlinson of Business Recovery Services Limited was installed as the temporary manager of iCreate on December 18, in relation to a $20-million bond. Sagicor confirmed last week in a statement that it would terminate the receivership since all amounts owing to bondholders and trustees were paid in full. Receivership is a legal avenue for creditors to recover funds from a company that is unable to meet or has defaulted on its loan obligations.

“This is not the Sagicor Danny Williams founded. This is not the Sagicor Richard Byles led. Our dedication to transparency, justice, and upholding our rights remain steadfast. This is not just about iCreate; this is about supporting entrepreneurship in Jamaica — financial institutions have a duty to do so. To move to put a business like iCreate that just made a landmark acquisition of a big company such as Visual Vibe — which at the time was six times our valuation — we bought the company for US$4.3 million yet still Sagicor placed us in receivership for US$156,000.00,” said Wilson in his opening remarks of what he has dubbed David versus Goliath.

Wilson returned to iCreate in November following his resignation in August. He noted that Sagicor Investments was one of the first institutions he contacted, and that iCreate cleared off all interest payments in full. Wilson added that he attempted to have meetings regarding the outstanding principal payments but that nobody from Sagicor responded to his various modes of communication such as calls or emails. This included Sagicor Group Jamaica Chairman Peter Melhado and President and CEO Christopher Zacca.

While he deferred the monetary value of damages being sought, Wilson noted that some of the planned moves which have been stalled include an initial public offering (IPO) of Visual Vibe, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) not being signed for a US$40-million real estate project under its creative city project, and other deals. Wilson also referenced the US$10-million real estate project in St Ann that he noted has completed the infrastructure work and has moved on to increasing the number of units.

“Our stock price dropped at least 50 per cent since the news of the receivership. A lot of damage has been done to iCreate, and I refuse this time to pick up the pieces and move on. We have a very aggressive merger and acquisition strategy that is looking to propel the business, and all of that is now in jeopardy,” Wilson expounded when asked by a journalist on the impact of the receivership.

iCreate is using the legal services of Georgia Gibson Henlin KC and is finalising the legal documents to be submitted to the Supreme Court of Jamaica.

Wilson also noted that the company has submitted all outstanding documents to Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) and expects to receive a response tomorrow about when the stock will be allowed to trade again. iCreate was suspended from trading for the second time in six months on January 18, due to breaches of JSE rules. iCreate appointed Jahmar Clarke as its new company secretary following the resignation of Demetrie Adams. The company also appointed The Firm CB as its new external auditors.

When asked if he was open to mediation with Sagicor Investments, Wilson said that was a question for Sagicor and that he was tired of picking up the pieces.

Sagicor sent a statement out shortly after the briefing, noting that the decisions made which resulted in the repayment reflected their fiduciary duty to their clients. Sagicor further stated that it intends to defend any litigation to be brought against it.

“SIJL has been made aware of a press conference held this morning by iCreate, during which it was mentioned that a lawsuit may be filed against us. We wish to reassure our stakeholders that Sagicor is confident in the propriety and legality of our actions. We remain steadfast in our commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and compliance in all our business activities. We are prepared to vigorously defend any litigation that may be filed against us in this matter,” Sagicor Investments stated in a public response.

Sagicor Investments was the lead broker for iCreate’s January 2019 IPO and was the company’s second-largest shareholder with 23.53 million shares and a 12 per cent stake. Following subsequent capital raises by iCreate and sales by Sagicor Investments, the company was the eighth-largest shareholder in the company up to September 2023,with 16.96 million shares and a 1.79 per cent stake.

iCreate had planned a December 19 board meeting to propose the spin-off of their remaining 70 per cent stake in Visual Vibe to its shareholders, despite the Sagicor bond being secured by all present and future assets and property of the company. The company is set to report its fourth-quarter financials by February 14, with Wilson noting that iCreate is still trying to privately collect funds owed by government entities.