Sagicor Jamaica says it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Alliance Financial Services Limited.
The deal will see Sagicor take over a company that has been hit by regulatory sanctions in recent months.
It will also signal the entry of Sagicor into the remittance and foreign exchange market.
Ricardo Brooks reports.
Sagicor announced the deal in a statement this afternoon. According to Sagicor, the deal is pending regulatory approval and due diligence.
However, the financial giant is already indicating that it’s planning an expansion of its own operations.
Sagicor says it has applied for a Cambio licence and a remittance license from the Bank of Jamaica.
Statistics from the Bank of Jamaica show that remittance inflows to Jamaica topped 3 billion US dollars last year.
Alliance controlled the Money Gram Cambio in Jamaica.
In announcing the deal, Sagicor Group Jamaica’s President and CEO, Christopher Zacca, says the deal to buy Alliance is in line with the group’s overall growth strategy.
In December last year, the Bank of Jamaica suspended Alliance’s remittance and cambio licenses.
In a statement the BOJ said the move was necessary given the charges laid on the company by the Constabulary’ financial unit.
The charges were laid following a probe by the Financial Investigations Division, FID.
The case involving Alliance Finance Limited over its reported breach of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) and Banking Services acts laid against non-executive directors Peter and Robert Chin in their personal capacity will be withdrawn when they return to court in March .
