Jamaica Producers Group Limited (JP) and Pan Jamaican Investment Trust Limited announced on Thursday that they have entered into an agreement to transfer shares in Mavis Bank Coffee Factory Limited (MBCF) to Specialty Coffee Investments Company Limited (SCI).

Specialty Coffee is acquiring the shares through JP subsidiary JP Tropical Group Limited, and Scotts Preserves Limited, a subsidiary of Pan Jamaican Investment Trust Limited, which each own 50 per cent of the company.

Well-placed sources told the

Jamaica Observer that SCI is a company owned by Michael Lee Chin, whose other investment company, AIC International Investments ,bought Wallenford Coffee Company for US$16 million ($1.6 billion) in 2013.

Wallenford is the island’s other major Blue Mountain coffee producer.

The planned sale comes six years after both companies acquired the MBCF from the Government of Jamaica.

CEO of Jamaica Producer’s Group, Jeffrey Hall, while declining to disclose the terms of the deal, said: “We believe the terms of the agreement will yield a very satisfactory return to our shareholders. It will be good for them and good for Jamaica.

“It was important for us to divest Mavis Bank to a person who demonstrably shares a commitment to growth and development in Jamaica, and we believe the proposed person satisfies that criteria.”

He also declined to name Lee Chin as buyer.

In October 2011, the Government sold its majority interest in MBCF to the JP and PanJam consortium in a deal from which the estimated net proceeds of sale were expected to be approximately US$4.5 million (J$387 million).

The companies invested $243 million in upgrades, an injection which, in 2015, resulted in returns of near $100 million to both after previous years of erratic returns.

Overall, returns to JP and Pan Jam have exceeded their initial investment at the time of purchase of the business, the companies indicate.

In 2015 the revenues improved 35 per cent over 2014, driven by improvements in export green bean sales and execution of locally roasted coffee through the True Brew and Caribbean Blend brands.

The consortium was paid $98 million, compared to a net loss of $80 million in the previous year.

While performance was positively affected by strong prices in international markets, adequate supply of cherry coffee remains a concern for the industry.

“MBCF was loss-making when it was acquired by JP and Pan Jam, but recorded operating profits in every year since the acquisition, with record profits recorded in the last financial year (2015),” one company document stated.

In the five-year period MBCF has taken the lead in processing Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.

Investments during the period included water-treatment facilities and upgrades to achieve HACCP and FDA certification.

MBCF has expanded its product and distribution range and now sells roasted coffee across the Caribbean. During the five-year period MBCF also diversified the business to include coffee farming and expanded its retail operations. Over 60 acres of coffee farms were established. The acquisition of a second coffee farm is under way.