iCreate moving to repair breach

DIGITAL MEDIA company iCreate is still in breach of the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Junior Market Rule 505 (7) (a).

The rule says: ‘The Junior Market Company shall at all times ensure that the fully paid, subscribed participating voting share capital that has been admitted is not less Jamaica Stock Exchange Junior Market Rule Book 13 than J$50 million and not more than J$500 million, and that such capital is fully paid,’ the Junior Market rule book says.

Wednesday Business queried whether iCreate had started taking the necessary steps to list on the main market.

The JSE’s Managing Director Dr Marlene Street-Forrest said the company has indicated to the JSE that it intends to migrate to the Main Market, by June 2023.

Subsequent checks with company CEO, Tyrone Wilson, showed that the process was under way.

“Our corporate secretary has sent an indication to the Exchange that we definitely will be doing the migration,” Wilson said when contacted.

Street-Forrest said the matter will be brought to the attention of the relevant body at the JSE.

“An application will be sent in for the Listing Committee of the JSE to consider and if approved the graduation will be effected,” Street-Forrest said.

For the time being, as long as iCreate remains on the Junior Market it will continue to pay annual listing fees that are about half of that of main market companies and enjoy tax breaks for the next five years.

Concern arose last November when iCreate shareholders gave the nod to the digital media group, authorising the exchange of shares in a scheme of convertible debt financing. That move put the company past the $500 million authorised capital limit for junior market-listed companies.

At that time, the iCreate CEO said he was relying on a proposal before finance minister, Dr Nigel Clarke, to raise the threshold to $750 million.

So far, that movement has not materialised.

The inevitable reality of the need to migrate came in January when iCreate executed other merger and acquisition moves that would have put them beyond the proposed new limit of $750 million. iCreate had 940,685,242 shares outstanding, valued at over $1.5 billion at that time.

On Tuesday, iCreate closed with 949,685,242 shares outstanding, with a market value of over $2.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the finance minister has indicated that the matter of lifting the Junior Market’s cap still has his attention, but is not at the top of the list at this time.

“Not at this minute, but later down the line,” was the quick response from Clarke.

Street-Forrest says the JSE is in wait mode.

“The minister has indicated that while supportive of the lifting the cap, he will advise when this will be effected,” Street-Forrest said.

neville.graham@gleanerjm.com