WITH a net loss of $2.53 million in its first six months up to November 2021, Ciboney Group Limited’s cash has dwindled from $2.75 million to $774,000 in its most recent quarter. This leaves the shell company with about a quarter’s worth of cash to operate.

Ciboney used to operate various properties in the hospitality sector, which included the Beaches Grande Sport which it sold in January 2004 for US$17.5 million ($1.068 billion). Ciboney also sold a 16.2-acre property in Culloden, Westmoreland, for US$2 million ($226.27 million) in December 2017 and disbursed part of the proceeds to shareholders as a capital distribution of $185.64 million or $0.34 per share. The company’s share price rallied from $0.22 to a peak of $0.42 on the announcement of the distribution before falling to $0.12 weeks later.

Since then, the Financial Sector Adjustment Company, (Finsac) – the entity set up by the Government in 1997 to address the liquidity and solvency crisis which existed in the financial sector in the early 1990’s – has been trying to dispose of its 72.1411 per cent stake in Ciboney through Trumpton, Crown Eagle Life Insurance Company and Eagle Merchant Bank, which directly own the shares. It made an attempt in July 2018 to dispose of its stake, and took out an advertisement in October 2021 attempting again to dispose of its shares. The ad put forward the idea that a company could do a reverse takeover and become listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE). Despite the November 8 deadline passing, there has been no advisory to the public on updates surrounding any possible deal.

Ciboney’s stock price experienced a massive price run between January – February 2021 where it increased from $0.20 to a peak of $2.30 before descending to its current trading price of $0.87. As a result of the improved price, Ciboney was the third best-performing stock in 2021 on the JSE where it closed 256 per cent higher. This warranted a disclosure by the company that there was no material information of a possible reverse takeover.

Despite recording a loss of $1.85 million for its second quarter, Ciboney’s cash dropped by $1.15 million. The company’s current market capitalisation of $474.95 million would result in it paying $499,492 in listing fees. Ciboney moved its registered office to 30 National Heroes’ Circle in October along with the removal of its executive director role. Apart from the cash on its books, it has $5.71 million in income tax recoverable and $9.91 million in unclaimed capital distribution from its shareholders. It had a shareholder deficit of $4.81 million at the end of November.