A Canadian company, Emera Inc., which earlier this year acquired 38 per cent control of Light & Power Holdings Ltd., now wants to get its hands on more shares in the company.
Light & Power Holdings Ltd is the parent company of Barbados Light & Power, the country’s lone electricity company.
However, there is some mystery surrounding how many more shares the Canadian company wants and whether it would make a takeover bid for Light & Power Holdings.Chairman of the Securities Commission, Sir Neville Nicholls, told the NATION yesterday Emera Inc. had not made a formal application to the commission but he expected to “get something soon”.
He conceded that Emera had already passed the threshold of share ownership that would normally have triggered a takeover bid.
However, Sir Neville explained: “When Emera bought the shares from Leucadia National Corporation [in May], they made a declaration that at that time they had no plans to take over Light & Power Holdings. I don’t know if they have had a change of heart.”
Emera acquired its 38 per cent common shareholding in Light &Power Holdings in May 2010 from Leucadia National Corporation, another Canadian company.It is an energy and services company with CAN$5.8 billion in assets. Emera also owns 19 per cent of St Lucia Electricity Services Limited and 25 per cent of Grand Bahama Power Company.