Some Sagicor shareholders in Barbados have jumped at the opportunity to sell their shares to a locally-based business which says it specialises in purchasing stock in public companies from people resident in the Caribbean.
This is despite Sagicor Financial Company Limited having cautioned its shareholders about the offer a few months ago. Andrew Chiam, regional operations manager at Barbados Stock Trading Company (BSTC), has announced that the company recently paid 68 Sagicor shareholders about $1 million to acquire 130 000 of their stock in the financial services giant which operates in the Caribbean, the United States and Canada.
“So far, Barbados Stock Trading Company has purchased shares from 68 shareholders, all of whom have received payment by electronic funds transfer to their local bank account,” he said.
“Where a person’s shares have not yet been transferred to BSTC, or if we have written to them requesting further information or documents, those shareholders will be paid in due course.”
BSTC had offered to buy 500 000 of Sagicor’s common shares for $7.50 per common share, about $3.74 million overall. Chiam said that the expiration date of the offer has been extended by a letter sent to Sagicor shareholders. The new offer expiration date is March 3, 2026 and the terms of the offer remain the same, he noted.
“Many shareholders have expressed positive feedback, stating that this has given them a practical way to sell their shares for the first time,” he said. “We are about to commence an offer to shareholders in a number of other Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Curacao and Aruba.”
BSTC, which has an office in Welches, St Thomas, said its focused on purchasing shares in public companies from people resident in the region “where the shares are not listed on a local exchange or where arranging the sale may be challenging”.
On its website, the company tells investors that it is not affiliated with Sagicor or the Barbados Stock Exchange.
BSTC also said on the website in relation to the offer to Sagicor shareholders that “owing to difficulties starting our business in Barbados, there were unexpected delays in transferring shares”.
“As a result, shareholders that accepted our offer earlier this year experienced delays in receiving payment for their shares and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused,” it stated.
“We are pleased to report that these difficulties have been overcome. Share transfers are now progressing smoothly and payments are being issued within seven business days of our receiving transfer confirmation, in accordance with the offer terms. As of early August, 68 shareholders have received payment for their shares.”
Sagicor, whose shares are not trading exclusively on the Toronto Stock Exchange, published notices cautioning its shareholders about accepting BSTC’s “mini-tender offer for shares”.
On May 5, Sagicor said that it was “notified of an unsolicited mini-tender offer made by BSTC to purchase up to 500 000 Sagicor common shares, or less than 0.37 per cent of the common shares outstanding, at a price of [$7.50] per common share”.
“BSTC’s mini-tender offer indicates that the offer price may be settled in a shareholder’s local currency. Sagicor is in no way associated with BSTC and does not recommend or endorse acceptance of this unsolicited offer,” said Sagicor.
“The unsolicited offer represents a discount of approximately 29.62 per cent below the closing price of Sagicor’s common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) on March 24, 2025, the last trading day before the mini-tender offer was commenced, and a discount of approximately 32.03 per cent to the closing price of Sagicor’s common shares on the TSX on May 2, 2025.”
Sagicor said that “mini-tender offers are designed to seek less than five per cent of a company’s outstanding shares, avoiding disclosure and procedural requirements applicable to most bids under Canadian and United States securities regulations.
“Securities regulators have expressed serious concerns about mini-tender offers”.
It advised shareholders to “carefully review the BSTC offer documents and current market price for Sagicor common shares and consult their investment advisors regarding any offer they may receive and review with their advisors all options for their investment in Sagicor common shares”.
“According to BSTC’s offer documents, Sagicor shareholders who have already tendered their common shares can withdraw their shares no more than 14 days after the date of delivery of their tender form to BSTC by following the procedure described in the offer documents,” Sagicor stated.
Chiam said in response that “our recent offer to purchase shares in Sagicor was priced at a discount to the market value of the shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange”.
“We believe that some shareholders will value the opportunity to sell their shares at a discount, instead of having to organise the sale in Canada. Of course, shareholders are free to do that if they wish and equally, are free to decide to do neither and remain shareholders in Sagicor,” he said.
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