LIME gives up majority ownership of BTC
Published:Wednesday | January 29, 2014 | 12:00 AM
Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) has given up majority ownership of Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC), which trades as LIME Bahamas, in a deal with the government that will funnel two per cent of the company to a charitable foundation. CWC now holds 49 per cent of BTC, but remains in operational control of the company, while the Bahamas government essentially owns 51 per cent, including the stake now held by the BTC Foundation.
The deal announced last week after months of negotiations, and comes about three years after The Bahamas privatised the telecom.
The value of the transaction was not disclosed.
"Let me say right from the outset that this regaining of the majority economic interest in the BTC will not cost the government or the people of The Bahamas one single cent - not one!" declared Prime Minister and Finance Minister Perry Christie in a national broadcast on January 22.
"I should like to take public note of the fact that the discussions that have now culminated in this historic agreement were carried out with the utmost cordiality and on a completely voluntary basis, without threat or compulsion on either side," he said.
The BTC Foundation will be funded through contribution by CWC of a two per cent economic interest in BTC, according to a news release from CWC.
"The two per cent shareholding will not be entitled to any voting rights and, therefore, CWC will retain majority voting rights in BTC, as well as remaining the largest overall shareholder," CWC said.
It will also maintain management and board control, and as a consequence, continue to consolidate BTC's financial results.
The foundation will invest in projects to benefit Bahamanians. Income from the fund for the foundation, said Christie, will expand access to telecommunications technology; assist in the development of athletics and civic activities in the Bahamas; and to fund crime-fighting tools and technology, including CCTV. CWC acquired a 51 per cent interest in the BTC in early 2011 for US$210 million. Under the agreement initially signed in December 2010, The Bahamas was to begin the process of liberalising the mobile phone market in three years.