Republic Bank, Victoria Mutual agree on acquisition

Republic Bank (Barbados) Limited has entered into an agreement with Victoria Mutual Investments Limited (VMIL) to acquire 100 per cent of the issued and authorised common shares in Republic Funds (Barbados) Inc., the owner and operator of the Republic Bank family of Mutual Funds, comprising Republic Property Fund, Republic Income Fund and Republic Capital Growth Fund.

The transaction is subject to the approval of Regulators in Barbados and Jamaica. VMIL is a publicly listed company on the Jamaica Stock Exchange, and through its subsidiary, offers investment banking and wealth management services, including asset management of proprietary unit trust funds.

Republic Bank, in a strategic decision, has chosen to concentrate on its core business of commercial banking. The operation of mutual funds, under RFI, no longer fits into the Bank’s core business strategy.

In the process of identifying a purchaser, Republic Bank adopted a thorough and expansive process to select an acquirer for RFI involving Requests for Proposals from the major mutual fund operators in the region including Barbados.

These proposals were then assessed based on rigorous pre-defined criteria. Based on this process, VMIL was selected as the preferred bidder.

While awaiting regulatory approval in Barbados and Jamaica, Republic Bank will continue to be the owner of Republic Funds Inc. and until the acquisition process is completed, the Bank will remain the manager of the funds.

If the transaction is approved by all the regulators, on completion of the share transfer process, the purchaser VMIL, will notify fund-holders of the change in ownership.

The process is expected to be completed in approximately six to nine months, but could be extended depending on various factors. (PR)