By Al Edwards, Business Co-ordinatorTHE INSURANCE Company of the West Indies (ICWI) Group, the holding company of ICWI plc yesterday sold a significant stake of its shareholdings in the country's leading life insurance company Life of Jamaica (LoJ).
The ICWI Group held approximately 220 million shares in the LoJ and according to its chairman, Dennis Lalor is now left with a 40 million shareholding in the company which was acquired by Barbados Mutual in 2001.
ICWI was founded by Mr. Lalor in 1968. In 1986 the Group formulated a plan and acquired LoJ.
The acquisition of LoJ was deemed audacious and sealed Mr. Lalor's reputation as a patriarch of the Jamaican life insurance industry.
Before the acquisition, ICWI already held 11 per cent of LoJ with its founder Danny Williams holding 10 per cent and the Matalon family 30 per cent. The Dennis Lalor lead bid bought out the Matalon family's interest but in order to consolidate the acquisition into ICWI accounts, a subsidiary was formed-ICWI Investments. Into this new company, Danny Williams would place his 10 percent stake. ICWI would be the majority shareholder with 78 per cent with Danny Williams holding the remainder. Danny Williams was contracted to run the company. In 1994 he stepped down and by 1996, Dennis Lalor was appointed Executive Chairman, succeeding Pat Rousseau.
What makes LoJ such a prize is its pension funds of approximately $15 billion. By the late nineties LoJ was in trouble and was in dire need of a capital injection. In 2001 the Financial Sector Adjustment Company (FINSAC) took a 76 per cent controlling stake in the company in return for recapitalising it to the tune of J$2 billion.
In November of that year the Government sold its 76 per cent interest in LoJ to a consortium of Barbados Mutual Life Assurance Society (Barbados Mutual), Life of Barbados (LOB) and Colina Insurance Company for US$41.2 million (J$1.95 billion)
Barbados Mutual also acquired Jamaica's Island Life Insurance Company which was headed by Oliver Jones.
Dennis Lalor was replaced as the head of LoJ with Maxine MacClure now assuming that position. Barbados Mutual's parent Sagicor, is the majority owner of the newly merged LoJ/Island Life and has been engaged in a restructuring exercise geared toward streamlining operations. LoJ has recorded unaudited first quarter profits of $221 million, about $144 million higher than profits for the corresponding period last year.
Mr. Lalor told The Gleaner last night that he had no idea to whom the shares were sold.
