Prosser says BTL purchase will be completed
Over the last few months of turmoil in the telecommunications industry, his silence has been deafening…but today Jeffrey Prosser, chairman of Innovative Communications Corporation, spoke out…or at least issued a press release. Citing comments in the Belizean media–but not contradicting them–the telecom tycoon essentially admitted that he has failed to come up with the fifty-seven million US dollar payment due to the International Bank of Miami, but said that situation would soon be remedied. “Certain contractual responsibilities in the purchase agreement between ICC and the Government are still to be completed by both sides”, said the ICC chairman, “but we are confident that these will be accomplished and that the remaining sum due to the government for the shares in BTL will be paid within the next ninety days.”
Prosser went on the note that his company has already paid Belmopan thirty-one million U.S. dollars for part of the share purchase and has paid and will continue to pay all the interest charges on the IBOM loan, which is still in the name of the Belize Government. For good measure, the release adds, I.C.C. paid four point five million U.S. dollars on behalf of Intelco to cover that now bankrupt company’s default payments guaranteed by the Social Security Board.
But it is the reasons for Prosser’s inability to pay that make the most interesting reading. “Certain vested interests in Belize have deliberately and maliciously interfered in the completion of the financing for the BTL share-purchase with the objective of stopping it”, said Prosser.
“This interference included misrepresentations to financial institutions outside of Belize and to some minority shareholders in BTL. Were it not for this interference, full payment for the shares would have been made months ago.”
The release concludes with further assurances that neither the Belize Government nor Belizean taxpayers would bear any of the costs associated with the loan or subsequent refinancing; these will be borne solely by I.C.C.
As for reports in the international press, notably Forbes Magazine, that Prosser and I.C.C. were in financial trouble, I.C.C. vice president for public relations, Rene Henry, informed News 5 that parts of the Forbes article were inaccurate and misleading. According to Henry, conservative estimates using widely accepted methods of valuing telecom companies, place I.C.C.’s “net equity value”–that is gross value minus debt–in the region of five hundred million U.S. dollars.
While today’s press release did provide some much needed comfort to a financially uncomfortable government, Prosser did not address the issue of the purchase of Intelco, much of whose formidable foreign debt is guaranteed by both the Government and Social Security Board.
