BTL Board Approves Plan to Buy Smart as Belizeans Demand Transparency

Belize Telemedia Limited has taken a major step toward acquiring Speednet Communications Limited, the company behind the Smart brand, after BTL’s Board of Directors approved management’s proposal to acquire one hundred percent of Speednet’s issued share capital. The development comes as members of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, the Public Service Union and concerned citizens gathered outside BTL’s headquarters on St. Thomas Street today to protest the proposed acquisition and call for greater transparency. If completed, the transaction would bring Belize’s two major telecommunications providers, Digi and Smart under one ownership structure. BTL says the proposed acquisition would strengthen Belize’s digital infrastructure by improving network reliability, expanding connectivity to underserved communities and increasing investment in new technology. However, the proposal has raised concerns among unions, business groups and other stakeholders, who are questioning the impact it could have on competition, transparency and public interests. The protest was held while BTL’s Board of Directors met to further discuss the proposed transaction. President of the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, Ella Waight, says the unions are calling for greater accountability and more information before the process moves forward.

Ella Waight, President, NTUCB: “It’s a travesty for us Belizeans as as you know the NTUCB and BCCI has not supported the acquisition of Smart. We understand that a meeting was just held at BTL where they have voted. I have not gotten the results of the voting but we strongly believe it is a vote to support acquisition. We will be out here in front of BTL, in front of Digi to register one final time our non-support of this acquisition so join us out here. It’s not a protest it’s just to register our non-support of the acquisition we’re calling on workers calling on UB students, calling on every Belizean to come out and stress the importance of what should have been meaningful consultation that did not happen. What we had asked for in our many letters to BTL and the government of Belize to ensure that we would have had answers to what they were trying to do in the acquisition of Smart. So we are out here at BTL. We are out here, I am out here at BTL. Only me for right now and we’re asking Belizeans to come out and make a stand on the injustice that just happened just now.”

BTL says the Board’s approval allows the company to continue pursuing the acquisition, but the transaction is not yet complete. The company says the process remains subject to continued due diligence, negotiations for a definitive agreement and final approval of the Share Purchase Agreement before the deal can be finalized. BTL has placed the proposed investment at eighty million dollars and says the acquisition would not require additional borrowing or funding from the Social Security Board. Instead, BTL says the investment would be repaid through Speednet’s operating cash flows, with the company describing the acquisition as a strategic investment in Belize’s digital future. The company says combining the two operations could reduce duplication of telecommunications infrastructure, improve service reliability and allow greater investment in connectivity, including underserved and unserved communities. The proposed acquisition has also drawn concerns from other stakeholders. The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called for additional information, including Speednet’s audited financial statements and an independent valuation. Meanwhile, Belize’s four Independent Senators issued a joint statement raising concerns about transparency, competition and the valuation process surrounding the transaction. Public Service Union President Dean Flowers says the proposed acquisition raises important concerns and believes the public deserves more information before the process continues.

Dean Flowers, President, PSU: “The decision for me to come out here is first and foremost to remind the Belizean people that their future pension is being threatened because they have effectively given the currency to the Briceño administration to do exactly what they’re doing. The Belizean people have sat quietly and watched this unfold. It’s a shame and the Belizean people who are sitting in their offices, sitting in their homes, who should be seated shoulder to shoulder, locked arms in these offices, at the offices of the Social Security. They are the ones who are in power. We’re dealing with a cabal here. We’re dealing with the leader of a party who is running a cabal to hold this country, to seize the wealth of this country and we’re dealing with the leader of a party who also wears another hat as the prime minister. And until we as citizens understand that the future of this country lies within our hands, we will continue to see the little that we have being stolen from us. And this is the beginning of it. Not the beginning, but this is another continuation of it.”

BTL says it will continue engaging with the Government, the Public Utilities Commission and other stakeholders to ensure the proposed transaction is carried out transparently and in the best interests of consumers, employees, shareholders and the country. While BTL’s Board has approved moving forward with the acquisition, the deal is not yet final. The transaction must still go through the required steps before BTL can officially acquire Speednet Communications Limited