Buyer for CIL could be named by June

The beleaguered CLICO International Life Insurance Limited (CIL) may have new owners by this summer.{{more}}

This is according to Oliver Jordan, Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados based Deloitte Consulting Limited, who was in St. Vincent last week updating the media on the progress of his company in securing a purchaser for the financially challenged regional company.

Deloitte was appointed judicial manager of the company last year; and Jordan, one of two men appointed to oversee the process, indicated that subject to regulatory and court approval, a buyer could be announced by June or July this year.

“In November (2011), we received court approval to seek to identify an investor with the necessary financial as well as management capability to take over the operations of the company, and we are currently in the midst of that process.

“At this stage, we have at least two investors who have been identified, and we’re seeking by the end of March to receive non binding offers from the investors, some time towards the end of April, we will then identify a preferred bidder and then we are seeking to conclude and arrangement to transfer the assets and liabilities of the company….”

Jordan said that the efforts are being made to speed up the process, and ensure that a resolution is reached as quickly as possible, recognizing that the collapse of the company has been a strain on policy holders.

When asked, he pointed out that he was not in a position to identify the two bidders because of confidentiality agreements, but stressed, however, that approval would be based mainly on the managerial and financial stability.

We don’t want a situation where two years from now the company runs into financial trouble again; and similarly, we want to ensure that there is new management because I don’t think there will be any confidence if the same management was in place in a new company.”

According to Jordan, who was accompanied by Deloitte Marketing and Business Development Manager Renetta Mohammad and the company’s local representative Floyd Patterson of BDO, efforts are being made to develop a solution that would benefit Vincentian policy holders, who he said have approximately $120 million of liabilities in the company.

“We are seeking to ensure that we can develop a solution which is in the best interest of the policy holders of St. Vincent. While we are judicial managers for the region on a whole, we are also judicial managers for St. Vincent… so we will be seeking to ensure that whatever solutions develop are equitable and ensure that one jurisdiction doesn’t receive better treatment than another jurisdiction.”(JJ)