Investors dive into Dolphin Cove IPO

A two-week offer for the shares of marine attraction Dolphin Cove lasted only 10 minutes after its opening Wednesday because of the volume of bids that poured in for the stock, said lead broker Pan Caribbean Financial Services (PCFS).

In a few weeks, Dolphin Cove will debut on the JSE Junior Exchange, becoming the first company of its kind to trade on the Jamaican stock market.

"We received applications for many more shares than were offered in the invitation," said Kevin Donaldson, equities manager at PCFS.

Pan Caribbean did not divulge the volume of applications, which it said it was still tallying, only that the 80-million share offer was massively oversubscribed.

The IPO was priced at J$3 per share to raise J$240 million of equity capital.

Dolphin Cove has promised to operate a healthy dividend policy which will share 25 per cent of profits with shareholders. The funds will pay down some of Dolphin Cove's debt, and fund expansion.

Its main base is in Ocho Rios, but the marine attraction opened a second park at Point in Hanover over the summer.

"We are very happy with the response to the invitation and we welcome our new shareholders to the company," said Chairman Stafford Burrowes. "As disclosed in the prospectus, proceeds from the invitation will be used for debt reduction, working-capital purposes and the acquisition of additional property."

Joanna Banks, Pan Caribbean's lead adviser on the Dolphin Cove transaction, described the response to the IPO as a show of confidence in the tourism market generally.

Pan Caribbean said Wednesday it would announce the basis of allotment of the shares within three days, after which it would formally apply for listing of the shares on the junior exchange.

business@gleanerjm.com