Durrant Pate/Contributor

Delaware-registered company, Blue Mahoe Holdings LLC, has acquired a stake in the Jamaican entertainment firm KLE Group.

Blue Mahoe, founded by David Mullings, has acquired 1.7 million shares of KLE Group on the domestic stock market through its Jamaican affiliate, Blue Mahoe Capital. As a result, Blue Mahoe has become the tenth largest shareholder in the publicly-traded company known for its ownership Usain Bolt’s Tracks and Records franchise in Jamaica. 

The purchase was facilitated by NCB Capital Markets. 

KLE Group previously owned and operated the Fiction and Famous nightclubs in Kingston and Portmore, St Catherine.  KLE is presently working on a major real estate development known as Bessa, an eight-acre lifestyle-themed villa community located in Oracabessa, St Mary.

Commenting on the buy into KLE Group, chairman and CEO of Blue Mahoe Holdings, David Mullings says, “KLE has been through some challenges over the years but when Bianca Welds, my classmate from the University of Miami, sent me pictures of the progress on Bessa while she was doing a sea turtle release experience, I had to take a deeper look at how this could be a catalyst for the business going forward.”

Franchising Tracks and Records

Mullings is adamant that franchising Tracks and Records is the way forward stating, “12 years ago I asked Gary Matalon, then CEO of KLE Group, if they planned to franchise the brand into the large markets where Jamaican culture is loved. He said that was the vision. I have offered to join the KLE Group Board of Directors to help them identify the right franchisees in Miami, Orlando, Atlanta and New York because they should be competing with Bahama Breeze and Margaritaville. It is time that authentic Jamaican food and our culture at that scale be owned by Jamaicans.” 

Our Today understands that Blue Mahoe Holdings has big plans to invest in real estate assets across the Caribbean, starting with building affordable homes in Jamaica and then Barbados. The company also plans on giving retail investors access to invest in these deals through its recently launched a Testing The Waters campaign for a regulation crowdfunding (CF) offering in the US to gauge interest. 

Anyone can commit to invest as little as US$500 at US$10 per share. If successful, Blue Mahoe says this would be the first US-based vehicle that allows investors to get access to Caribbean investment opportunities. 

The company has vision of listing on America’s NASDAQ to give access as well as liquidity to investors looking for exposure to the Caribbean but who also desire the safety of a regulated entity that must have audited financials and proper SEC reporting. Blue Mahoe Holdings intends to open an office in the Pembroke Pines/Miramar area in Miami.