iCreate placed in receivership
Published:Tuesday | December 19, 2023 | 12:09 AM
Beleaguered digital media company iCreate Limited has been placed into receivership.
The receiver, Kenneth Tomlinson, is expected to meet with CEO Tyrone Wilson to discuss the terms that could amount to relinquishing operational control.
The company, which is listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, is worth more than $325 million, but most of that reflects an estimate of value or goodwill rather than hard cash. It has $5.4 million in the bank after adjusting for its bank overdraft.
“This is to advise that the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) was advised in a letter from Business Recovery Services Limited … that Kenneth Tomlinson was appointed by Sagicor Jamaica Investments Limited as the receiver-manager of iCreate effective December 18,” stated a notice from the JSE regulatory arm seen by The Gleaner.
Tomlinson, the CEO of BRSL Consulting Services Limited, wants access to the company’s bank accounts, assets, and details of its creditors and lawyers, among other things.
The company racked up losses of more than $312 million since its 2019 listing on the JSE.
iCreate has been embarking a series of moves to improve the outlook of the company. In May 2023, it acquired Visual Vibe Limited for a total consideration of $588.6 million, of which $95.7 million reflected hard assets with the remainder being non-cash valuations or goodwill. Then in its September financials, iCreate indicated that it plans to sell a 20 per cent stake.
The group listed its shares in 2019 following an initial public offering, which raised some $69 million to fund its operations. In its prospectus, the company forecast that by December this year, its annual revenue would total $405 million. At $100 million in sales over nine months to September 2023, it requires a fourfold rise to hit that target.