Ashford W. Meikle, Staff Reporter
THE DYOLL Group will be offloading its coffee operations, Dyoll/Wataru Company Limited, according to the acting chairman of the group, Peter Lawson.
In his report to shareholders in the company's annual report, Mr. Lawson said, "Dyoll Group is moving to sell its 51 per cent interest in Dyoll/Wataru Coffee Company Limited and hopes to have this sale finalised by September 2005."
A highly placed coffee industry source confirmed with Wednesday Business yesterday that a sale was pending.
NO COMMENT
The prospective buyer was said to be a businessman with interests in the automotive and coffee industries.
When contacted, the businessman would neither confirm nor deny the sale.
Attempts by Wednesday Business to get a comment from Mr. Lawson were unsuccessful as his office said he was off the island. Nor would executives at Dyoll comment on the pending deal.
Dyoll Wataru Company was established in 1985 as a joint investment of Dyoll Group Limited and the Japanese company, Wataru and Company Limited.
In 1991, it started the export of blue mountain coffee to Japan, then seen as a lucrative business which could earn foreign exchange for Dyoll.
In 2003, the company introduced to the local market its brand of blue mountain coffee, which it previously sold exclusively in Japan for the previous 18 years. Economic changes in Japan had curbed demand for the product there.
After Dyoll Insurance Company, Dyoll Wataru was the most active part of the Dyoll Group.
The group also included Cayman Insurance Centre Limited (which operated in the Cayman Islands), the defunct Dyoll Caribbean Financial Services Limited and the property development company, Seville Development Corporation Limited, which has the significant holdings at Drax Hall in St. Ann.
Two factors contributed to the company's decision to sell the company, according to Mr. Lawson. "Coffee is not seen as a core business of Dyoll. In addition, Dyoll/Wataru ... was performing below projections."
FUTURE UNCERTAIN
It is unclear what price is being negotiated for the farm. However, two separate sources told Wednesday Business that, based on its size of about 100 acres, it could be sold for $8 to $10 million.
According to the auditors, KPMG Peat Marwick, the future of the Dyoll Group is uncertain as its major operating subsidiary had net current liabilities of $1,401,295,578, a shareholders' net deficit of $1.1 billion and a net loss of $1.6 billion.
In February this year, with rumours swirling about the financial health of Dyoll Insurance Company Limited, the Jamaica Stock Exchange (JSE) suspended trading in the Dyoll Group's shares.
On March 7, the Financial Services Commission assumed temporary management of the Dyoll Insurance.
