GK acquires majority shares in Bluedot ahead of planned IPO
Published:Sunday | April 17, 2022 | 12:06 AMKarena Bennett - Business Reporter
Larren Peart, founder and managing director of data company Bluedot, has sold a portion of his company to conglomerate GraceKennedy Limited just three months after reacquiring 80 per cent of its business from three shareholders, one of which held a 50 per cent stake in the company.
Group CEO of GraceKennedy, Don Wehby, has confirmed with the Financial Gleaner that GK now has majority shareholding in Bluedot.
“Based on the current capital structure, GK has majority shares,” Wehby said.
The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
Still, Peart on Thursday said the private equity investment by GK gives Bluedot enough cash to execute on its long-time plan of extending its service offerings to markets like Guyana, Barbados, and The Bahamas, while boosting business in Trinidad & Tobago.
Bluedot Data Intelligence Limited is a full-service market research, social media, and data insights company whose clients include government, corporations, and non-governmental organisations.
GraceKennedy will not be involved in the day-to-day operation of the firm but will guide the business through a board memberships. Peart will remain as managing director.
“This is a strategic partnership not just for both companies. For Bluedot, we will be leaning on GK’s corporate governance but will better position us for our upcoming IPO. I’ve also spoken a lot about expanding to the other parts of the Caribbean, and now that process is at a very advanced stage,” Peart told the Financial Gleaner.
He expects to have a mix of virtual and brick and mortar offices set up in Guyana, Barbados, and the Bahamas within the next three months. Bluedot previously has an arrangement with Barbados agency G&A Communications Inc, but it is no longer in effect.
“We already have employees in Trinidad & Tobago, so next, we will be looking at Barbados. Trinidad has a huge fast-moving consumer-goods market, and there is quite a bit of attention on Guyana now because of its oil,” he said.
Locally, Bluedot is looking to grow the number of small businesses it serves. A big chunk of Bluedot revenues in Jamaica comes from large companies.
Peart wants to increase the company’s client base and revenue before heading to market with an initial public offering of shares. A broker is yet to be selected for Bluedot’s stock market listing, but Peart said it would likely be GK Capital Management, which is owned by GraceKennedy. The offer is expected to be on the market by summer 2023.
The company intends to use the funds raised from the IPO to upgrade its software systems so as to expand its service offerings, both locally and regionally.
Peart is looking to build out a consultancy division for Bluedot and expand its data analytics services, with a focus on artificial intelligence and machine learning data analytics, including credit-risk models for banking institutions.
“A lot of the funds raised will go towards building out our data science capabilities. Acquisitions might also be on the table, but that is dependent on what happens at our first board meeting,” he said.
The first board meeting with GK representatives is slated to take place within a few weeks.