Legal documentation released by Digicel Group and its affiliates states that the transfer of majority ownership must be finished by month’s end.
Recently in Dublin, Ireland, the paperwork was presented to founder Denis O’Brien and other directors for signature. The entire purchase is expected to be completed “approximately” on January 26.
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This month, O’Brien submitted several additional papers to the US Securities and Exchange Commission about the debt-conversion plan, which calls for him to cede primary ownership and control of the telecom company, which was founded in Jamaica and is headquartered in Kingston.
Consequently, two investment managers will own nearly two-thirds of Digicel’s voting rights. According to the amended documents, Contrarian Capital will control 16.2 percent and PGIM Inc. 48.4 percent. GoldenTree Asset Management, a third private equity fund, will also have an unidentified position.
Although O’Brien will still hold a minority position, it is not clear how much of a minority owner he will have once the deal concludes.
Gregory Cass, the principal of PGIM, Pat Dyson, the partner of GoldenTree, and Xiao Song, the managing director, oversee Contrarian Capital Management.
Digicel’s borrowings will drop from US$4.7 billion to about US$3 billion because of the debt conversion deal.
Following the transaction’s conclusion, O’Brien’s exact holdings were not revealed. Rajeev Suri will take over as chairman in his place, but that previously planned change was not mentioned in the latest documents.
Beginning in Jamaica in 2001, Digicel used debt primarily to fund its operations as it grew throughout the Caribbean, Central America, and the Pacific. Over time, around US$5 billion was invested in the telecommunications network.
A start-up company effectively contested the well-established Cable & Wireless. Digicel’s debt burden finally got out of hand, and its creditors had to restructure the company because of its inability to make bond payments.
