Central Bank finds buyer for Clico

Central Bank Governor Dr Alvin Hilaire - Photo by Sureash Cholai -
Central Bank Governor Dr Alvin Hilaire - Photo by Sureash Cholai -

Central Bank Governor Alvin Hilaire announced yesterday that the bank has found a preferred bidder for the sale of Clico and British American Co (Trinidad) Ltd’s (BAT) traditional portfolio.

“As part of the resolution strategy, Clico/BAT with Central Bank oversight, conducted a wide reaching, professionally managed and transparent process to identify a suitable company to acquire and manage the business. After the rigorous process that spanned several years, a preferred bidder was identified to purchase both portfolios,” Hilaire said at the launch of the bank’s monetary policy report for November 2018 at Central Bank, Port of Spain.

Sale and purchase agreements are expected to be signed shortly by Clico, BAT and the party, and then signatories will work closely to get the necessary regulatory approvals in the shortest possible time to complete the transition, he said. Hilaire was asked to name the preferred bidder, but said it’s a private transaction and because of confidentiality he could not give more details. This deal would bring an end to the nearly decade-long Clico bankruptcy saga. Government has paid nearly $24 billion to bail out what was once the region’s biggest conglomerate after it went bankrupt in 2009.

Now that the buyer has been identified for the traditional portfolio— which comprises mainly universal, life and term policies, as well as deferred and immediate annuities and some group pension schemes— the next steps will be to prepare schemes of transfer for regulatory approval to transfer the policies from Clico/BAT to the buyer.

Since the bailout, Government has recovered $14 billion in the form of cash ($8.3 billion) and other assets.

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"Central Bank finds buyer for Clico"

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