5 months ago
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Bondholders will decide next Tuesday whether to grant a second extension to Specialty Coffee Investments Company Limited, an outfit connected to businessman and investor Michael Lee-Chin, for the repayment of the debt.
If they vote in favour, the repayment would be done in “October 2025”, the date included in correspondence issued by trustee JCSD to the coffee company’s creditors.
It would be the second extension of the bond, which matured last December.
Bondholders had previously agreed to an extension to April 2024, but that deadline was missed.
No reason was given for the extension, and Andrea Kelly, general manager of the Jamaica Central Securities Depository, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The bond was issued in 2021 to refinance, or replace, earlier debt. At the time, Specialty Coffee wanted to refinance up to $1.9 billion, comprising a local currency bond of up to $500 million at 9.75 per cent, and a second tranche up to US$8.7 million at 7.25 per cent per annum.
The original bonds issued in 2016 raised $1.8 billion at 9.5 per cent interest and was used to finance the acquisition of Mavis Bank Coffee Factory for $1.3 billion as well as working capital needs. Specialty Coffee Investments Company acquired Mavis Bank in 2016 from joint-venture partners Jamaica Producers Group and Pan-Jamaican Investment Trust. Mavis Bank, one of the largest producers of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee, has been in operation for over 90 years and has long-standing trading relationships with Asia, Europe and North America. Its green beans carry the factory’s name, while its roasted beans are branded as Jablum.
Lee-Chin is a Jamaican-Canadian businessman who amassed a fortune from investments. The bulk of his holdings are in operational financial entities, but he also has holdings in various sectors, including coffee.
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