MICHAEL Lee-Chin is set to learn the view of noteholders who will vote on the proposals surrounding three connected companies owing over US$300 million.

A town hall meeting is scheduled for today at 4:30 pm on the Zoom platform and at the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s offices. The meeting concerns the potential restructuring of the terms related to various bonds which have been cited for events of default. These include unpaid principal and interest to investors in bonds issued by AIC (Barbados) Limited, Portland (Barbados) Limited and Specialty Investment Company Limited. AIC and Portland have been issued margin call letters and cited for failure to provide audited financial statements.

“The Noteholders Committee has completed negotiations with the issuers and will present the proposed terms to the investors at the town hall meeting. Following the presentation the trustee will facilitate a question-and-answer (Q&A) discussion and provide guidance on the in-person voting process and relevant meeting dates,” Jamaica Central Securities Depository (JCSD) Trustee Services Limited stated in a notice.

The noteholders or negotiating committee was approved by noteholders across the various notes to negotiate with the issuers but not to make a binding decision on behalf of any group. Its term expired on October 31. The committee members include Richardo Williams, Kareem Tomlinson, Charles King, Keith Duncan, Courtney Campbell, Christopher Zacca, Eric Crawford, Peter Moses and John Graham.

Following the presentation by the Noteholders Committee and the Q&A session, investors will be informed of the meeting dates for voting related to their individual notes. If a sufficient threshold approves an extension for any bond, the new terms would take effect for an effective date. However, if a certain threshold votes against an extension this could trigger an enforcement action to be actioned by the trustee in order to realise the collateral value pledged against the bonds.

Currently, 1.06 billion shares of NCB Financial Group Limited (NCBFG) are pledged as collateral against the debt outstanding. This equates to 41 per cent of Jamaica’s largest financial conglomerate which owns NCB Jamaica, Guardian Holdings, and Clarien Group. NCBFG declared another $0.50 dividend to be paid to shareholders on December 12. AIC would receive an estimated $598 million from this payment.