DPM: Bluewater comparison 'speculation', untrue

Tue, Jun 14th 2016, 11:15 AM

Deputy Prime Minister Philip Brave Davis yesterday insisted that NewCo, a new Bahamian company formed to hold the second mobile cellular license, is not related to Bluewater Holding Company. Davis also mentioned an initial public offering (IPO) to find shareholders in HoldingCo, the government-owned holding company that owns the majority interest in NewCo, but gave no indication of a timeline.

The second mobile license has been issued to Cable Bahamas Ltd. (CBL), which will own the minority interest in NewCo. As noted, the majority interest is owned by HoldingCo, which is solely owned by the government at present. The administration has expressed an intention to divest itself of those shares to Bahamian investors, and Prime Minister Perry Christie - who has Cabinet responsibility for the electronic communications sector (ECS) - has said those investors will be pension funds and the like. He said the government has initiated a search for investors.

The identity of the potential investors of HoldingCo was a matter of speculation by shadow Minister of Finance Peter Turnquest, who wondered if the so-called search for investors was really an attempt to allow "people with connections" to find a way to get involved in the cellular industry. "NewCo and HoldingCo all seem eerily similar to Bluewater Holding Co.," said Turnquest.

Speaking with Guardian Business yesterday, Davis dismissed that as speculation.

He also said the introduction of more competition into the communications sector would create better services, prices and packages for consumers.

"We expect better customer experience in terms of affordability and reliability," Davis said.

"The model that has been crafted by the government is to ensure, first of all that ordinary Bahamians would be able to participate in the second cellular license," said Davis.

He added that the government would introduce an IPO for those persons interested in investing within the company.

Davis, who was the lawyer that represented Bluewater Holding Co., touted the value of BlueWater's deal in comparison to closing the deal with CWC.

At the time, rumors surfaced that the company named "Bluewater Ventures" allegedly did not exist. Davis yesterday said the company was a group of investors who simply wanted their own brand name in The Bahamas.

Xian Smith, Guardian Business Reporter

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