March conclusion to BTC deal

The Nassau Guardian

March conclusion to BTC deal

Cable & Wireless Communications (CWC) is expected to finalize its deal with the government regarding the give back of nearly two percent of its shares in the Bahamas Telecommunications Company (BTC) by the end of March, according to Franklyn Wilson, who led negotiations for the Christie administration.

Under the terms of the new deal, CWC will transfer 5,093,200 of its shares to the government to be held in trust for the Bahamian people. The BTC Foundation will manage that trust.

Wilson told The Nassau Guardian the foundation will be created soon after that deal has been finalized.

“What we signed was a memorandum of understanding,” said Wilson, who was contacted for more details about the deal. “It must be turned into a definitive agreement.

“Cable & Wireless calls for the final documentation to be done on or before March 31 and I would expect the foundation would be created very, very shortly thereafter.”

Prime Minister Perry Christie announced last week that the government negotiated the deal with CWC to give up nearly two percent of its shares in BTC at no cost to the government or the Bahamian people.

The foundation will also hold all of the dividends and income from the shares.

The government has projected that annual dividends from the recovered shares will be in the low seven figure range based on BTC’s past performance.

As has been widely reported, money accrued in the foundation will be earmarked specifically for sports development, civic activities and aiding the crime fight through expanding closed-circuit television networks.

While Christie has said the government will table the new deal with CWC in Parliament, it is unclear exactly when that will happen.

The deal will not change BTC’s management structure and BTC’s executive control will remain in the hands of CWC.

The Ingraham administration sold 51 percent of BTC to CWC in 2011.

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