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RBC gets RBTT shareholder approval for buyout
Majority shareholders of the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) have bought into the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) takeover of the twin-island republic's largest commercial bank.
They agreed with a 98.18 per cent majority, exceeding the required 75% approval, to accept the transaction that will see RBC buying the bank's retail banking operations and then fusing its Caribbean operations with the Trinidad bank - a move which RBTT Group Chairman, Peter July said was "in the best interest of the bank and its stakeholders".
Late Wednesday evening, when the votes of the just over 700 of the RBTT shareholders attending the meeting and the approximately 1,400 other proxy votes were counted, it was the will of those who backed the TT$13.7 billion (US$2.2 billion), including the National Insurance Board and Guardian Holdings Ltd and other majority shareholders, that won out.
In addition to large corporations, public workers, retirees, the self-employed and professionals represented the RBTT shareholding.
Despite the overwhelming vote, there were hundreds of individual shareholders who did not support the sale. When the issue was discussed prior to ballots being cast, many of them attending the meeting strongly objected to the sale of the Trinidadian institution to the foreign bank.
Their protests on the inside were supported by the Federation of Independent Trade Unions which demonstrated on the outside of the Trinidad Hilton Hotel and Conference Centre where the special shareholder meeting was held.
When the deal is completed in June, those who supported it will get a TT$40 (US$6.39) value for their stock in a RBC share/cash split - TT$24(US$3.83) in cash per stock unit and TT$16(US$2.56) in RBC common shares which are traded on the US stock market.
Mr July who described the meeting as historic and "in fact, the most important meeting of shareholders to be held since the bank was established in 1973", insisted that the sale was the best strategic choice to ensure the bank's continued expansion.
"This is an historic decision which will benefit all stakeholders. We now move to satisfy the requisite regulatory requirements to ensure that we can close this transaction within the shortest possible timeframe," he said.
Mr July said while it was not true that the board and management was incapable of taking the RBTT Group forward, the reality was that the bank was too small to compete effectively in the global arena.
The RBTT official added that it was also unable to compete successfully against international banks for the bigger and better acquisition opportunities in the Central American market which should now be targeted.
"Our studied conclusion was that the company and its stakeholders would be best served by seeking an appropriate association with a major global financial institution that has an interest in and a commitment to the region and a compatible outlook of growth and expansion," he said.
Mr July added that the acquisition of RBTT creates an extensive Caribbean banking network with assets of US$13.7 billion and a presence in 18 countries, spanning the region from the Bahamas in the North to Suriname in the South.
RBC's Caribbean operations will be headquartered in Port-of-Spain, from where further expansion within the region will take place. The new group will have 130 branch offices and employ close to 7,000 employees to serve more than 1.6 million clients.
Following the integration of the two financial institutions, Mr July will remain RBTT chairman while RBTT Group CEO, Suresh Sookoo will become CEO of RBC's Caribbean operations.
Source: caribbean360.com
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