For many, the thought of knowing what the richest man in your country is investing in is exciting. It’s even more exciting to be given the opportunity to join him in his ventures.

With the decision to list on the Jamaica Stock Exchange Main Market, Portland JSX Limited (PJX), is set to provide Jamaican investors with access to new investments targeted by Michael Lee-Chin in the Caribbean and Latin America.

IPO Launch
PJX will launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO), on Thursday, June 8. It will run until June 22 with a total of 111,818,182 ordinary shares being offered at $ 11.00 each.The company intends to raise $1.23 billion from the IPO which, if successful, will see the company listing on the main market of the Jamaica Stock Exchange.

Proceeds from the IPO will be invested in Portland Caribbean Fund II. This is a private equity fund, which holds a portfolio of equity and/or debt securities of companies located in Latin America and the Caribbean. To date, PCF II, which started in July 2014, has raised US$136 million to date with a target of US$200-250 million.

Global private equity investors in PCF II include International Finance Corporation (IFC), European Investment Bank (EIB), German Development Bank (DEG), Export Development Canada (EDC), Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC).

A Opportunity to Co-Invest
ForRobert Almeida, a Managing Partner and Member of the Investment Committee, this offer is one that potential investors should pass up lightly. Speaking with Businessuite Magazine following a recent Investor Briefing on the PJX, put on by brokers, Victoria Mutual Wealth Management, he indicated that Portland was built on the premise of ‘wealth creation for all’. He says the opportunity will not only offer potential investors the opportunity to have insight into Michael Lee Chin’s investment portfolio but will also provide them with an opportunity to join him in his investments.

However, he says it must be noted that the PCF II is a long term investment with irregular dividend payments. He says while this may prove as a deterrent to investors who are interested in immediate returns, this ensures that when returns are seen, it is to the maximum advantage of both individual investors and PJX itself.

However, the management partner says, should still not find this investment as a profitable one and not support the IPO in search of the full $1.23 billion, the company will consider other avenues for listing on the JSE as it already meets all the requirements. In October 2015, Portland JSX did a successful private placement, raising $1.7 billion from several local and regional institutional investors.

“As a company, we already have the capital….because we already raised the money in our private placement, at worse we’ll be a $1.7 to $2 billion capital company. So even if we do not raise the additional $1.2 billion, it’s still a decent amount of capital and we can still list. We’ve got enough capital, we don’t need the extra’, he told Businessuite Magazine, “the thing is, it’s not just about creating an opportunity for just institutional partners to participate, but for the broader public to participate”.

It is expected that the company, which intends to list approximately one month after its IPO, will do so by Introduction. This is a similar move taken by Sterling Investments in October of 2014 when it listed by introduction its 4,014,547 ordinary shares on the market at a price of $134 under the symbol SIL.An introduction is suitable in the case of a company that does not need to raise capital and satisfies the JSE requirement in terms of the public spread of shareholding, capital size, etc. It is the quickest and cheapest means of listing, as there is no offer to the public and minimum formalities are required.

PJX Profitability
Almeida says so far, PCF II has made investments in three companies with several deals in the pipeline across multiple sectors. The Fund has investments in Panama Wind, a wind energy project in Panama; CFFI Ventures (Barbados) Inc (“CVBI”), an opportunity which resulted from the Cable & Wireless and Columbus Communications merger; and Clarien Group Limited (“CGL”) – the parent company of Clarien Bank Ltd (“CBL”) – a leading bank in Bermuda.He says there are also plans to invest in several other entities, in various sectors across the Caribbean as the company continues to diversify its portfolio through profitable investments.

PCF II, which started in July 2014, has raised US$136 million to date with a target of US$200-250 million.

“Unlike peers in other markets which have optimized their portfolio risk and returns by diversifying their portfolios globally and making substantial use of private equity investments, most Jamaican institutions have been prevented from this investment best practice by regulatory or other constraints,” said the prospectus adding that the listing of PJX forms a way to unlock that potential.

VM Wealth said PCF II will be managed by the same team that administered the successful first fund, AIC Caribbean Fund (“ACF” or “Fund I”), which invested US$162 million and has returned US$374 million to date.

The management team at PCF II consists of seasoned and experienced investors Robert Almeida, Joe Vescio and Doug Hewson.