AS Bryden & Sons Holdings Limited (ASBH) has deepened its Barbadian footprint with the acquisition of a 50 per cent stake in Armstrong Agencies Limited (AAL) as the Trinidadian distribution conglomerate continues to acquire family businesses across the region.

The acquisition, which was announced on Tuesday, saw Retail Acquisition Company Limited (RACL) acquire shares from AAL’s existing shareholders and inject additional capital into the company by way of newly issued shares. Armstrong Agencies is a family-owned business which distributes global brands across the food, beverage, confectionery, personal care, and pharmaceutical sectors. Some of these brands include Quaker Oats, Lasco iCool, Worthy Park Estate Limited, Trident Gum, Durex, and Rhino Garbage Bags. Armstrong Agencies is currently the 51 per cent owner in the joint venture Armstrong Health Care Inc (AHCI) with ASBH owning the remaining 49 per cent through Bryden pi Limited.

“We are thrilled to embark on this new chapter with A S Bryden & Sons Holdings. Their history of success and commitment to excellence aligns perfectly with our own. This collaboration ensures the continuity of our legacy while providing the resources and expertise needed to achieve new levels of growth and innovation. We are confident that this partnership will be a great benefit to our customers, suppliers, and employees,” said Christopher Lambert, chief executive officer (CEO) of Armstrong Agencies Limited, in the release posted on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE).

AAL’s leadership and operations team will remain in place following the recent acquisition. It will fall under the oversight of Rakeesh Bernard who is the CEO of ASBH’s Barbados business unit. Andy Armstrong, Peter Armstrong, and Tony Armstrong sit on the board of AAL. Armstrong Agencies began trading in November 1993 and formed the joint venture with ASBH in July 2013.

Investors will likely have to wait until March 2026 before they learn the transaction cost and terms. However, ASBH’s 2024 financials revealed that Armstrong Health Care reported a six per cent rise in revenue to TT$71.70 million but saw net profit dip 77 per cent from TT$3.63 million to TT$850,000. The joint venture’s asset base grew 42 per cent to TT$65.85 million with TT$33.54 million in inventories and TT$21.59 million in receivables and other current assets. The net assets of the business grew 10 per cent to TT$35.14 million with ASBH recognising TT$17.22 million as its share of net assets. ASBH accounts for this business as an associate company.

ASBH initially acquired a 75 per cent stake in Retail Acquisition Company in March 2024 for TT$66 million. This interest was reduced to 55 per cent based on a forward contract sale of shares to a third party. ASBH paid a TT$45.35 million consideration for its stake in RACL as per its 2024 audited financials with Seprod Limited, the 80 per cent owner of ASBH, recognising the transaction value as $985.32 million in Jamaican dollars (JMD). Stansfield Scott (Barbados) Limited (SSBL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of RACL and contributed TT$142.03 million ($3.27 billion) in revenue and TT$1.66 million ($38.08 million) in net profit for the 10 months after acquisition during 2024.

Brian Cabral, Jayshree Kessaram, and Indra Cabral retained a minority interest in the business after the SSBL acquisition with Brian and Kessaram remaining as directors. ASBH issued 4,200,000 class A preference shares worth TT$28.56 million to Saravai Holdings SRL in December 2024 for the SSBL acquisition.

RACL also completed the acquisition H Jason Jones & Co Limited (HJJ) during the second quarter (April to June). HJJ is a Barbadian distributor and retailer with two main divisions in building products and food services which supplies retail and hospitality sectors. Although the acquisition price wasn’t disclosed, ASBH’s financials revealed a US$300,000 cash outflow on acquisition of a new subsidiary while Seprod’s report showed a $78.51-million cash outflow on acquisition of subsidiary.

“This investment marks a significant milestone in our strategic vision for regional expansion. Armstrong Agencies is a highly respected company with a deep-rooted presence in the Barbadian market. This partnership strengthens our portfolio and allows us to build upon our shared values and commitment to delivering quality products and services to the Caribbean,” said ASBH CEO Richard Pandohie in the release.

ASBH also acquired the remaining 10 per cent stake in Bryden pi from Norman Tang in March 2024 for a consideration of $938.31 million. ASBH also acquired a 75.28 per cent stake in Caribbean Producers (Jamaica) Limited for a consideration of TT$363.84 million (J$8.37 billion) through a mixture of cash funded, debt and new ASBH ordinary shares issued to the two former principals of CPJ being Anthony Mark Hart and Thomas “Tom” Tyler. ASBH increased its interest in CPJ to 79.99 per cent during February 2025 by issuing new ordinary shares.

ASBH was a family-owned business controlled by the Fitzwilliam, Maingot and Bryden families before it was sold in June 2022 to Seprod and a group of investors. Seprod acquired an initial 60 per cent stake in ASBH in June 2022 for $7.11 billion, which valued the overall acquisition at $11.85 billion. Both Seprod and ASBH are chaired by Paul B. Scott.

Since the acquisition, ASBH has grown its consolidated revenue base in TT$1.72 billion and net profit of TT$90.21 million in March 2022 to TT$3.39 billion in revenue and TT$63.85 billion in December 2024. The asset base has also grown from TT$1.40 billion to TT$3.37 billion over the same time with consolidated equity rising from TT$726.10 million to TT$975.31 million.