Hendrickson to buy The Pegasus

Hotelier Kevin Hendrickson has signed an agreement to purchase 59 per cent of the shares held by National Hotels and Properties Ltd (NHP) in Pegasus Hotels of Jamaica Ltd (PHJL).

Hendrickson will purchase 71,865,384 ordinary stocks units from NHP, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Urban Develop-ment Corporation (UDC), for US$11 million (approximately J$947.6 million).

A release from the NHP stated yesterday that the share sale, which was approved by Cabinet, is conditional on the articles of PHJL being amended to formally 'transfer' the right of the NHP, to elect six directors, to Hendrickson. However, the right of the minority shareholders to elect two directors to the board will remain.

Joy Douglas, the UDC's general manager, said the divestment was in keeping with the 2008 instructions by the Government for the UDC to return to its core functions as established under the UDC Act, that is, to carry on the business of planning and development of designated areas in Jamaica.

"To comply with this mandate the UDC was required to divest itself of its non-core assets," Douglas said. "And we are pleased that the process of divesting the Pegasus shares went extremely well, with transparency and within the time frame that was set."

The sale of the shares was undertaken by way of a controlled competitive bidding process which began in August 2009, led by Scotia DBG, the lead broker and adviser to the Government in the transaction.

In its own release last night, the Hendrickson family said it was pleased to have been selected as the successful bidder after a lengthy tender process.