<<< Here’s a photo of the government complex on Mall Drive in Freeport, Grand Bahama. It will soon become the former home of BTC. The corporation has been ordered to vacate the office by October as the transfer to new ownership is now underway.
Nassau, Bahamas — Breaking news now coming into Bahamas Press confirm that it’s already a done deal! Cable Bahamas will be the new 51% owners of BTC, according to our ‘deep throat’ in the Office of the Prime Minister [OPM].
“The deal is done and well as our PM says, it is what it is,” the OPM source said.
News of the sale was fast tracked earlier in the year causing argument to rage in Parliament. The Ingraham government had at the time placed emphasis that the Corporation should be sold by the end of the year.
On July 7th, 2009, Cable Bahamas announced that it had government approval to be recapitalized. “This is another critical milestone in our plans to bring Cable Bahamas, in line with other public companies in The Bahamas, by extinguishing unique and special privileges associated only with the shares held by Columbus Communications Ltd,” Tony Butler, President of Cable Bahamas said.
“As important, it will also better position us with the additional capital needed to offer the converged communications services that our customers have been demanding.”
In July the Ingraham government launched the formal sale process for the 51% stake in the state owned telephone company.
“The telephone provider at present has a subscriber base of 334,000 (GSM and CDMA), 132,000 fixed-line customers and 18,500 broadband users throughout the nation. And generates a revenue base of near one half a billion dollars annually,” the OPM source said.
By 28 July, interested investors had registered for the BTC privatization process and paid the corresponding fee of $25,000.
“Those parties took part in the pre-qualification stage, further to which they received additional details on the process and a list of information requirements for evaluation by the government. Those who pre-qualify are now invited to participate in a formal due diligence exercise, ultimately resulting in an economic bidding process for the 51% stake in BTC. But from what we now have before us, Cable Bahamas has the bid lock seal and delivered,” the OPM source told BP.
Our reliable contact in BTC confirmed also that the company has been ordered to vacate the Government Complex on Mall Drive in Grand Bahama. Bahamas Press has learned BTC officers on the island also learned of the order to vacate the building early this week.
Sources say Acting General Manager at BTC, Kirk Griffin, will travel to Grand Bahama early tomorrow to hold meetings on the relocation.
BP reminds its readers to be careful of RED HERRINGS. Anytime you see the WUTLESS Media stirring mute arguments; putting out spin-like stories such as the Marital Rape Law, who will be the AG, who is will be the Chief Justice, who will become the GG, or Miss Bahamas, Miss World. Miss ‘dis and dat’ look again, someone is in the country’s backyard taking the fruits of the tree.
Whatever the case though, we support the move of Cable Bahamas to assume the BTC giant as it has a number of shareholders who are Bahamians!
Please read posts by tux, Larry Smith and Kevin McKenzie and you will see that months later all of which we said is what actually came to fruition.Many times you guys ask MPs to do the honorable thing and resign. Well I ask that you guys do the honorable thing and apologise.Next time please check the facts as Larry, Kevin and I did.
so yeah, this wasn’t true at all!!!!
If this Government of the FNM can have so many scandals in one term. Can you imagine what will happen?? If they get another term?? If havent caught some of them with their hand in the cookie jar, you send them back to office, can you imagine what will happen to the Cookie Jar???
At least we should ask The Prime Minister, upon his return to the Country,if there is any truth to this matter.
BP, as our Lead Dog on this issue, perhaps you could appoint one of your trusted partners to meet and greet the PM, and ask the question, and make darn sure he gives an honest answer. No side-stepping. No beating around the bush. We deserve a definitive answer. This question should be either confirmed or put to rest right from the top. Agreed?
Thank you Larry and Kevin Mckenzie. Persons here are obviously not interested in doing research but prefer to be spoonfed stories.
The 80 million dollars that Cable raised went to Columbus and it bought out Columbus’s holdings in the company. It didnt simply raise the money and sit on it. Had it raised the money and sit on it then we’d be maybe on to something.
This means Cable would have to return to the market and raise another 200 million dollars to acquire BTC through either debt or equity on top of the 100 million it just raised.
As Larry said, if Columbus had put in a bid for BTC then one can understand. But to say Columbus is Cable Bahamas is wrong as Columbs’ 30% stake was bought back into treasury shares by the company. Columbus’ involement in the company will be a managemnt style one where they are paid a fee every year for its services.
TROPICAL STORM ANNA WILL BE IN NASSAU ON THURSDAY PAY ATTENTION TO THE TROPICS AND THE MET. OFFICE.
Use common sense people. One of the points of BTC being privatized is for there to be competition in the market place. If CB, owned BTC then there would be basically no competition. Now if Columbus made a bid for BTC it is one thing. Mind you Cable Bahamas and Columbus are now two distinct entities as Cable Bahamas recently brought back the ownership that Columbus had in CB. Think people, that’s why there is all the problems in the country today, people are not thinking.
Perhaps if BTC employees actually worked on the job, instead of spreading false rumors there wouldn’t be a need to for BTC to be privatized in the first place.
@Correction
No NO NO Correction he is the Prime Minister of The Bahamas and this is still a democracy. Now if we had an opposition worth it’s name, and not such a DAMN PUSSY CAT LEADING THE PLP. Members of the opposition should meet his motorcade right at the airport and SAME THE DEVIL when he arrives back!
I could see the cards now reading, “WELCOME BACK MUGABE, WELCOME BACK to the country where 3 month old babies are sleeping in grocery carts on the side of the street!
Whilst 19 families share $74 million for a new port!”
SHAME THE DEVIL!
BUT THAT DAMN PUSSY CAT NAME PERRY WUTLESS CHRISTIE AIN’T WORTH HIS MIDDLE NAME! “WUTLESS”!
Bahamas Press/Editor
How Tony Butler got HI’s son in law when he is married to a lady from Scotland for more than two decades? They came here together and are still married. Bloggers you’ll need to be careful man. Get the facts right if you’ll going to call names, please.
Boy, dat Hubert Ingraham is something, eh?
I think we should meet him at the airport when he returns from vacation, and put him on a plane to some place where is ill-gotten windfall will be totally worhtless – er, sort of like himself.
The 80 million dollars in capital that Cable Bahamas is raising is to buy out mr.PHILIP KEEPING(COLUMBUS HOLDING)remaining shares.From an initial investment of 1 million dollars mr.Keeping has REAPED PROFITS IN EXCESS OF 200 MILLION DOLLARS!!!
WAT WE REALLY NEED TA PLACE EMPHASIS ON NAA IS SECRECY LEGISLAATION. WITH DA TELAFONE AND DA INTERNET KONTROL BY ONE COMPANY THAT IS EXTREMELY POLITICLAL PLP’S IN PATICLA SHOULD BRACE DEY SEF FA A ROUND OF VICTIMIZATION DIS COUNTRY EEN NEVER SEEEN.
Yenna cerris bout dis?? GEEVEES HMM I TIL YENNA CHILLIN STOP VOTIN FA JOKES AN FIREWORKS. LOL…. WAT DIS REALLY MEANS IS CABLE BAHAMAS GA DOWN SIZE DA WORKFORCE EVEN MORE AND MORE OFFICES GA CLOSE… NA YENNA IN DA FAR FLUNG ISLANDS GA HAVE TA PAY YA PHONE BILL TA DA BANK TOO….
I ENN GA SAY DAS GOOD I GA JUST SAY I REALLY SORRY FA YENNA DUMMNESS….
YENNA BETTA VAKE UP!!!! AND TELL BP JOIN FORCES WITH 1 SINGLE PARTY… OR COME 2012 VEE GA BE RIGHT HERE SCRAMBLIN IN DOO DOO RUNNIN ON FROM ONE STORY TA DA NEXT…. AND TINGS GETTIN VUSS
I’ve read the article, and made a few calls around and from the information herein everything seems to be true to my knowledge; so in that regard I base my comment.
Yes I do believe and agree that BTC should be privatized. It is a burden to the Government, and it’s one less entity for the Government to focus on and that time could be better focused on another more important department such as finance, health, youth, or which ever they deem necessary (after all they are the Government).
With that being said; to sell BTC to Columbus Communications (Cable Bahamas) is just like Hubert Ingram bought it himself. We all know that Tony Butler is or was his son in law (conflict of interest), and that he owns shares in Cable Bahamas not illegal, but still a conflict of interest when you’re dealing with the negotiations.
Also, everyone wants to know where he’s going to get the funds from to purchase BTC? When Bradley Roberts and “them” were trying to purchase BTC, using the people’s money it was a crime, but now that he sold it to his son in law what is this called? Aren’t they going to use the people’s money to purchase it anyway? It’s our monies in the banks!
How could the Government of The Bahamas give one company all control over electronic communications in and out of the country? They said that they’re opening the market for more competition to come in, but when your competition comes in and everything needs to be piggybacked off of Columbus Communications fiber optics, and infrastructure, where does that leave the competition? Also, didn’t Columbus communications already default on the agreement they had with the Government where they promised to put cable service on all the family islands? Has this been done but yet we’re listening to other promises that they’re going to put on the table again?
Are we all that ignorant?!?!?!?!?!?! Is there anything we as the people of this country can do? It just seems to me that everything the FNM is doing now is just so secretive, and we the people don’t know what’s going on until it’s done. Yes we put you there to speak for us, but as we’ve put you there, we are the one that ultimately will take you out.
I have said this before and I will say it again Hubert Ingraham owns cable bahamas and now he is making his move to own btc ….it time for us mossy back bahamians to get up and fight this evil traitor who wants to sell us out at every whim, while Perry the mercilous toils in silence as the country burns from the wicked schemes of his good buddy Hubert..what a crying shame
Wether or not it is true its a old trend remember wallace grove and freeport they did it with the hotels remember the T-shirts I on Merv Team
refrence to merv griffiths then it was P Ruffin now kerzner all that time we had Batelco and not one qualifyed bahamian conglomerate…its really sad to see and hear
@Russell Johnson you are so right with your reference to the carribean companies they didnt fully explain the CSME thing to the people they said no but they get it anyway outside labour foreign C.E.O’s we will be in the same position as Norway and the european union they are not a part however the EU dictates their trade terms in particular their fishing i dont even need to mention CLico and the rip n run off scheme gambling the people hard earned money
Red herrings are all over the place and HAI really believes he can do as he sees fit.True Leaders are honest and do not try and take their country men down the path of misinformation.PC will soon have to decide if his friendship with HAI is worth all the headache he is receiving from his own party.I like the style of some union leaders wyho put friendship aside when dealing with foolishness.Are we not ever going to give a thriving company to Bahamians?We have insurance companies from Barbados and other Caribbean countries but in our own country a PM who is not well versed in nation building has decided to again put down his own believing he can intimidate everyone.We are not the Cabinet of the FNM Govt nor any of its rabid and blind supporters.Bahamas Information Services or the invisible acting PM need to let us know what is going on.My bad no one can speak until the maximum leader returns fron vacation.Dont anyone dare come on this site puishing any member of Cabinet as a future PM.The only FNM in Parliament who can be considered is Kendal Wright who is too independent for HAI thus his exclusion from the Cabinet.
How could HI do this to us?…lol…. This question is a joke right? Right now, I am trying to figure out why this latest news comes as a surprise to some of you. This doesn’t amaze me, because I have already trained myself not to expect anything better from some of these people in government. I don’t even bother to give myself a migraine about anything to do with HI, PC and the rest of them wutless ministers. While I watch people wasting their precious time degrading and arguing with each other over them they are making sure their pockets are fat. Why you think we have to try and roll them out? Life is too sweet for them and they are not prepare to go willingly.
How could HI do this to us?
Now here is the first question we find interesting. How will they find the money? Did we report in the article that Cable was given approval on July 7th to be recapitalized? They were given approval to raise $80 million in shared to the market? We must wonder if some of yinner does read.
We didn’t put that out there, the president of Cable Bahamas did. All we are doing here in this article is connecting the dots and telling you all what our contacts inside the OPM tell us.
But don’t believe it, wait until the Tribune tell you it 3 months from now. And focus on the question, “WHAT IS HUBERT INGRAHAM DOING IN MY BEDROOM WITH THIS MARITAL RAPE LAW, cause that’s where the media have yall right now.
Bahamas Press/Editor
PS: I going to buy my Cable shares that yinner business if you don’t want none.
BP,
I can’t beleive this one ,are you positive about this? because BP what you have reported here today will be a conflict of intreast ,since Cable Bahamas has an eclusive liscence which does not end until October and many government officals and persons associated with the FNM and PLP has shares in Cable Bahamas will profit with such a deal will be a huge and explodeing scandasl in this country.
BP, Are you positive about this ……
I don’t believe this for one sec.
I find this hard to believe since Cable Bahamas DOES NOT HAVE A HUGE CAPITAL BASE.WHERE DID CABLE BAHAMAS GET THE MONEY TO PURCHASE BTC FROM?WHAT ARE THE TERMS OF THE PURCHASE?HOW MANY EMPLOYEES WILL BE DISMISSED?HOW MUCH MONEY DID CABLE BAHAMAS MEET IN BTC’S ACCOUNT?ARE THEY USING THIS MONEY ALONG WITH BTC’S PENSION FUND TO ACQUIRE BTC?
Including Ingraham. The FNM is full of coruption. They paying some hefty bills for buying this election in 2007. It is known now that BTC has to find another place cuz they have been ask to start packing…Cable Bahamas will soon have their own building making less revenue than BTC while BTC will be scattered all over Freeport…SHAME!!!!!!!
Anyone wonder how it is that the HI cabinet of 1992 happen to be major shareholders?
Bahamas Press are you sure this information is accurate? I will reserve my comments on your confirmation of this information.However,can you state how much BTC was sold for?
Comments are closed.