iCreate says receivership did ‘a lot of damage’
Digital media company headed to court; Sagicor stands by decision, vows to ‘vigorously defend any litigation’
Published:Sunday | February 4, 2024 | 12:17 AMNeville Graham - Business Reporter
As digital media company iCreate prepares to head to court, CEO Tyrone Wilson is charging that his company was badly damaged by being wrongfully put into receivership.
Wilson said iCreate is contending that Sagicor Investments Jamaica Limited’s appointment of receivership is invalid and that the company was saying so all along.
Wilson says despite the announcement of the receivership, iCreate still managed to retain control of its business.
“Contrary to public perception, iCreate has continued to manage its operations independently, since the notice of appointment of receivership. The company remained under our control, operating on a normal day-to-day basis,” Wilson said, as he outlined his plans to take Sagicor to court seeking unspecified damages.
Wilson told journalists at a special press conference called on Friday that iCreate is involved in a lot of large transactions, one of which is Visual Vibe and that an initial public offering was on the cards.
He said the receivership happening has put a wrench in the spokes for those plans.
Wilson also pointed to the real estate development in St Ann, The Chalets of Bengal worth about US$10 million. He said just before the news of the receivership came, iCreate was in discussions about a mixed-use project called Creative City. He noted that they were near to signing an MOU, but the process was halted.
In addition, he said that the company’s stock price dropped over 50 per cent.
“A lot of damage has been done to iCreate and we refuse this time to pick up the pieces and move on,” Wilson said as he sidestepped directly naming a figure.
“That is up to our attorneys as to what they put in the claim but those are just some of the business dealings that we’re involved in and it is public,” Wilson said.
The value of shares in iCreate plunged from 82 cents on December 18, 2023 when receiver Ken Tomlinson was appointed, to 41 cents when the Jamaica Stock Exchange suspended trading.
This put the company’s market capitalisation at $389,370,949.22 or about US$2.5 million.
Wilson noted that iCreate has managed to train over 10,000 people to better operate in the burgeoning digital business space. He says with the company’s record of training such people many are presently working in the field of journalism, videography, social media and production.
“If we allow these things to continue, those people will not come to iCreate anymore. It has to stop and that is my belief,” he said.
Wilson once again charged that the receivership had come at a bad time, adding that by his calculations, his company was about to be wound up for a total of about $5 million.
Meanwhile, in a swift reaction, Sagicor Investments confirmed that the debt had been settled and that the receivership had been withdrawn.
Sagicor Investments said it wanted to reassure its stakeholders that, “Sagicor is confident in the propriety and legality of our actions. We remain steadfast in our commitment to uphold the highest standards of integrity, ethics, and compliance in all our business activities,” the statement said.
Continuing, the company vowed to “vigorously defend any litigation that may be filed against us in this matter”.
In response to the media releases by Sagicor, iCreate said it wishes to clarify that at all times it challenged Sagicor Investment’s right to call the bond as well as the receivership.
“Sagicor is aware that the settlement was made subject to these challenges,” iCreate said, noting that they arrived at the decision to go to court after a legal review of the appropriate documentation and numerous communications between representing attorneys.