DIGICEL ACQUIRES SPORTSMAX

Thursday 18^th September 2014 – Kingston, Jamaica

Digicel Group COO, Andy Thorburn, and Patrick Rousseau, Chairman of IMC and SportsMax (front row left and right)  celebrate with Phillip Martin, Deputy Chairman of IMC and Sportsmax (standing left) and Oliver McIntosh, CEO of Sportsmax (standing right).

Digicel today announced that it has acquired majority ownership and control of St. Lucia-based International Media Content Ltd., parent company of regional sports broadcaster, SportsMax, and North American broadcaster CEEN-TV, for an undisclosed sum. Under the terms of the deal, the founder and a number of the lead principals will continue to have an ownership stake and be involved in the day-to-day running of the IMC operation.

Currently available in 23 countries across the Caribbean, SportsMax is the Caribbean’s first and only indigenous 24-hour dedicated sports cable channel featuring a strong mix of international, regional and local sports content. Its large inventory of coveted content includes the Barclays Premier League, UEFA Champions League, West Indies cricket, the Indian Premier League and the IAAF Grand Prix.

IMC has been responsible for the broadcast of major international events such as the FIFA World Cup tournaments since 2006, including this summer’s event, and the 2012 London Olympics. In 2013, SportsMax launched its 24-hour Spanish language channel, CDN SportsMax, in the Dominican Republic which includes similar content as SportsMax plus Major League Baseball.

Ranked as the number one viewed sports channel in the region, the move to acquire IMC/SportsMax comes hot on the heels of Digicel’s entry into the cable TV market with recent acquisitions in Anguilla, Dominica, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nevis and the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Commenting on the acquisition, Digicel Group CEO, Colm Delves, said; “As a complete communications solutions provider, it’s all about ensuring our customers enjoy access to the best multimedia content on the best devices via the very best network and that we meet all of their communication, entertainment and networking needs. SportsMax represents the perfect blend of sports entertainment and infotainment with a Caribbean flavour and I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the team to the Digicel family.”

Patrick Rousseau, Chairman of IMC and SportsMax, comments; “Our commitment to excellence and blazing a trail across the region mirrors Digicel’s own commitment to delivering the very best for its customers. We are delighted to be joining with them and working together to continue delivering the best sports on television and growing our audience and reach across the Caribbean and North America.”

ENDS

About Digicel

Digicel Group is a leading global communications provider with operations in 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After 13 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$5 billion worldwide. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the presenting partner of the Caribbean Premier League. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.

Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.

About SportsMax

SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.

SportsMax is transmitted regionally to 23 countries through cable operators in the Caribbean. SportsMax, since 2002, has broadcast exclusively the most watched sports, including The Barclays Premier League, the FIFA World Cup, The UEFA Champions League, WORLD CUP Qualifiers, COPA AMERICA, WEST INDIES AWAY TOURS, the Indian Premier League, The Australian Big Bash, THE ASHES as well as all international cricket from Australia, India, New Zealand and England, and select IAAF Grand Prix meets featuring the Caribbean & the world’s best athletes within each season.

For more https://www.facebook.com/SportsMax

GRACEKENNEDY GROUP ACQUIRES AN ADDITIONAL 50% OF SHARES IN EC GLOBAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED, ST LUCIA - (Company’s holdings now at 80%)

KINGSTON, JAMAICA, SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

The GraceKennedy Group has announced the acquisition of an additional 50% of the shares in St. Lucian company, EC Global Insurance Company Limited (“EC Global”), bringing its shareholdings to 80%.  The group first acquired its 30% shareholding in EC Global in 2004.

According to GraceKennedy Financial Group Limited (“GKFG”) CEO, Courtney Campbell, “In pursuing our vision of becoming a Global Consumer Group in Foods internationally and in Financial Services regionally, we have been keeping a keen eye out for companies which can help us to achieve this goal. Our history with EC Global has been good, and by now becoming the majority shareholder, we are excited about the prospects that taking our investment in this business to the next level will bring. We anticipate significant collaboration between EC Global and our other existing Insurance businesses and look forward to reaping the rewards of this investment.”

EC Global is a licensed general insurance company in St. Lucia, previously owned jointly by GKFG and Eastern Caribbean Financial Holdings Limited (“ECFH”). The additional 50% shareholding acquired from ECFH brings GKFG’s holdings to 80%.  ECFH will retain the remaining 20% and remain a partner in the business.

Group CEO, Don Wehby, stated, “We have been very strategic in how we go about achieving our vision, and we are happy with the strides we are making and the pace at which we are going.  We have enjoyed a mutually beneficial collaboration with ECFH over the years, and we know that this will continue as we move forward in this new capacity.”

He added, “We are also excited about potential opportunities in Jamaica and plan to make significant investments in the financial services and food industries locally.  One of the areas I have asked my team to look at through our newly established entity, GK Capital Management Limited, is our participation in the venture capital industry recently announced.”

This is the second acquisition for the company since the start of the year. In July,     GraceKennedy entered into an agreement to purchase the operating assets and business of La Fe Foods Inc., including its brand.  The integration of La Fe, the top Hispanic Brand in the frozen food category in Northeast USA, has been going well.

 

DIGICEL COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF SUBMARINE FIBRE ASSETS ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN - (Government and regulatory approvals in place)

Friday 12^th September 2014 – Kingston, Jamaica

Digicel has received the required approvals from Government and regulatory authorities with regard to its purchase of a submarine fibre network across the Caribbean region from the Guadeloupe-based Loret Group and Caribbean Fibre Holdings and the transaction is now complete, it was announced today.

The completion of the deal marks another major step in Digicel’s ongoing evolution from a pure mobile provider to a global complete communications provider and follows the recent announcements of several cable TV and broadband acquisitions in the region.

This deal will provide Digicel with a wholly owned submarine fibre optic cable network providing capacity from Trinidad connecting 12 countries to Puerto Rico with onwards connectivity to the United States. In total, Digicel has secured access to a robust network comprising 15 submarine segments with a reach of some 3,100km across the Caribbean region. Digicel will also have extensive onwards capacity connecting to the United States, Europe and Asia.

Digicel Group CEO, Colm Delves, comments; “In our data hungry world, we are committed to ensuring we deliver innovative products and services to our valued customers. This latest acquisition grants us significant additional submarine fibre capacity which in turn means we can help our customers achieve their personal and business goals through advanced solutions and multimedia experiences on multiple devices.”

 ENDS 

ABOUT DIGICEL GROUP 

Digicel Group is a leading global communications provider with operations in 32 markets in the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific. After 13 years of operation, total investment to date stands at over US$5 billion worldwide. The company is renowned for delivering best value, best service and best network.

Digicel is the lead sponsor of Caribbean, Central American and Pacific sports teams, including the Special Olympics teams throughout these regions. Digicel sponsors the West Indies cricket team and is also the presenting partner of the Caribbean Premier League. In the Pacific, Digicel is the proud sponsor of several national rugby teams and also sponsors the Vanuatu cricket team.

Digicel also runs a host of community-based initiatives across its markets and has set up Digicel Foundations in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago which focus on educational, cultural and social development programmes.