Eppley takes over Stratus fund

Investment company Eppley Limited has acquired full control of Stratus Alternative Funds SCC from partner NCB Capital Markets Limited, NCBCM, but the value of the transaction was not disclosed.

Five years ago, NCBCM valued the key aspect of the fund at US$16.7 million ($2.6 billion).

Stratus is a Barbados-based investment platform that, prior to this transaction, managed various funds structured as segregated cells. Its largest cell is the Caribbean Mezzanine Fund II, referred to as CMFII. Mezzanine investing provides a mix of debt and equity financing in transactions.

“Under the terms of the transaction, the CMFII, which is Stratus’ largest fund, will become its only active cell,” the companies said in a joint release, while explaining that Eppley and NCBCM have jointly managed CMFII since its inception.

The Caribbean Mezzanine Fund was established in 2016. In late 2020, NCBCM unveiled the Stratus Alternative Fund, which it designed.

At the time, Stratus was designed as a series of funds, which targeted different types of investors. The Caribbean Mezzanine Fund was then reportedly valued at US$16.7 million.

With the full takeover of Stratus, Eppley has assumed full investment management of CMFII, through which it intends to strengthen its position in the alternative investments market. Alternative investments refers to assets that are generally outside of traditional capital markets of stocks, bonds and fixed-income instruments. The alternative asset classes include credit, private equity and infrastructure. These investments seeks to offer returns above 10 per cent, or higher returns than risk-free government paper or Treasuries.

Eppley virtually tripled its profit to $1.48 billion last year, compared to $506 million in 2023. It’s based on its growth strategy, which included acquiring $8.3 billion of investment properties in the year amid increasing its stake in its Caribbean property fund. Consequently, Eppley’s consolidated capital grew to $10.6 billion, of which shareholder equity amounted to $2.1 billion.

steven.jackson@gleanerjm.com