Guardian Holdings Limited and the International Finance Corporation (a member of the World Bank) Strengthen their Partnership.
Guardian Holdings Limited (GHL) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, today reached an agreement to invest $US 75 million ($TT 473 million) in the common equity of the Group at a price of $TT16 per share. The investment in GHL will strengthen its capital base and will support the company’s strategic regional expansion. The price per share that the IFC is investing at represents a 6.6% premium over yesterday’s closing price for the company as quoted on the Trinidad and Tobago stock exchange, and a 17% premium over GHL’s 30 day moving average price of $TT13.65.
The agreement includes converting IFC’s current $US 50 million ($TT 315 million) subordinated loan into common equity while at the same time investing $US 25 million ($TT 158 million) of new capital into GHL. The transaction will significantly improve GHL’s debt to equity ratio. Post completion of this transaction, IFC will own approximately 13% of the outstanding share capital of the Group.
Giri Jadeja, Senior Manager for IFC Financial Markets said, “We are very pleased to strengthen our existing partnership with Guardian through this equity investment and look forward to working closely with the company as they grow their current businesses and look for potential growth opportunities in the Caribbean and Central America. Guardian’s strong track record, diversified business lines and wide reach in the Caribbean provides the IFC with an excellent platform to deepen insurance penetration and achieve strong development impact in the Caribbean and beyond.”
Jeffrey Mack, Group Chief Executive of Guardian Holdings said, “IFC’s investment is a vote of confidence in GHL, especially when one considers that the IFC is transforming their current secured debt position into an unsecured equity position. Plus, at the same time they are investing new equity into our Group. This demonstrates their belief in not only how we currently operate, but also in our future plans for strategic growth. They will be a key partner for us as we grow and diversify our operations in the region.”
The agreement is subject to the approval of the shareholders of GHL as well the Board of Directors of the IFC. GHL will advise its shareholders in due course of the next steps regarding this transaction.
