Joe Issa plans to take public Cool Petroleum Holdings, the vehicle he used in partnership with the Trinidad-based conglomerate, Neal and Massy, to acquire Shell Oil’s business in Jamaica, financial sector sources said yesterday.
Issa declined to comment on the issue, but according to the Business Observer sources, the entrepreneur has already signalled to key strategists his attention to begin work on an IPO, once the acquisition of the Shell assets is finalized and he begins to settle down to the operation.
“The buying of Shell’s Jamaican business was a leveraged deal,” said one source. “Going public would raise capital which could be used to write down debt and deleverage Cool Group balance sheet.”
The sources made it clear that it would be just the petroleum ide of Joe Issa’s business that would be taken public and not the entire group.
Issa and his partner, Neal and Massy, are estimated to have paid about US$180 million for Shell’s commercial fuel, lubricants, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and chemical business in Jamaica. Fifty-six service stations came with the deal.
Issa’s Cool Oasis brand operates another 30 service stations.
Neither Issa nor Neal and Massy has made public the specific structure of their partnership, but according to the Business Observer sources, Issa holds controlling interest in Cool Petroleum Holdings.
Apparently, the partnership is structured in such a manner as to give Isa the service station/petroleum side of the operation while Neal and Massy has the majority stake in the LPG (cooking gas) operation.
Picture caption: Issa… acquired Shell’s Jamaican business
Source: The Observer
