EXCEPT PERHAPS for the Bajan ego, has anyone been hurt by the now all but ended battle for control of Banks Holdings Limited (BHL)?
When news first leaked several weeks ago that Brazilian beverage giant AmBev, though its St Lucia subsidiary SLU, was invoking its “right” to purchase every available share in the iconic Barbadian company that produces the international award-winning Banks Beer, great consternation was expressed in some quarters.
High on the list was the fact that yet another Bajan business was about to change nationality – another piece of Bajan pride was being lost, and this time it was not to the ever-rolling Trinidad juggernaut of acquisition, but to a South American entity.
Then entered Trinidad conglomerate ANSA McAL and it became a genuine takeover war. Shares that were trading on the local stock exchange at barely more than $2 before the expression of South American interest suddenly shot up beyond the $4 mark, and after repeated salvos from both sides, finished at plus $7.
With the news that AmBev has secured more than 51 per cent of the shares in BHL, hundreds of individuals and companies will be smiling all the way to the bank. And these will be no small smiles either, for in many ways the war for Banks has been great for shareholders and the economy.
And whatever the final reaction of ANSA McAL to the apparent victory by AmBev, Barbadians should be wary of declaring the Trinidad company a loser in the battle. We don’t know what are the plans of the ANSA directors, but given the fact that it owns almost 12 million shares in BHL, it could potentially earn in the region of $85 million if it decides to sell them to AmBev.
Throughout the battle ANSA spoke of its interest in the Barbados market and growing its beer and beverage operations here, and now with such a massive potential windfall, it has enough extra cash that it really does not need the Banks plant. It can put down its own and create an alternative to push its popular brands from right here.
By the same token, having spent so much money to acquire BHL, AmBev is now obligated to ensure that its efficiency and level of output are such that it justifies the investment. And its international reach and economic might can only work to the benefit of Barbados.
And while all those individuals and entities that sold their shares no longer have a “financial interest” in BHL, they now have money that can be reinvested in other stocks – limited though the market is. It is also very likely that some will take the opportunity to spend some this Christmas, again resulting in more direct stimulation of the economy.
So we can choose to cry over the sale of BHL to “foreigners”, or we can walk away with all the positives for the economy, as well as the very important fact that AmBev can’t “pick up the Banks plant and leave with it”.
It will remain a fixture on the Barbadian landscape for the foreseeable future.
Banks remains the “beer of Barbados”.
