Durrant Pate/ Contributor

First Rock Private Equity (FRPE), a member of the First Rock Group, has sold another large block of its majority equity in Jamaican-based regional micro-financer Dolla Financial Services for over half a billion dollars, which is said to be the market price.

Our Today can confirmed that 250-million Dolla shares or 10 per cent equity interest has been acquired by Mayberry Group Limited, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Widebase Limited, which is a St Lucian international business company. This entity holds investments in equity securities including joint venture Cherry Hill Development Limited and a 13.26 per cent stake in Jamaican Junior Market-listed e-learning company, EduFocal Limited.

The shares were sold to Mayberry on September 29. Mayberry is regarded as a connected party to the deal considering that it has 9.0 per cent equity in Dolla Financial having bought 225 million shares in the fast rising micro-financer back in July this year. At that time, FRPE sold a further 15 per cent equity in Dolla, representing some 375-million shares to Supreme Ventures Limited which, incidentally, is majority-owned by Mayberry Group.

FRPE offloading equity in Dolla

Both transaction amounted to 600-million shares with First Rock pocketing at least J$1.1 billion from those two transaction and added to this one, would see a further J$550-million added to that sum. While FRPE share equity in Dolla has been further depleted by 10 per cent to approximately 26 per cent, coming from 60 per cent at the start of the year and 36 per cent at the end of the two blocks of shares sold in July.

When contacted, First Rock Group co-founder and president Ryan Reid was reluctant to speak to the matter, considering that FRPE is a private company. However, what is known is that FRPE’s investment in Dolla has been a profitable one with the company already recouping its US$1.1 million investment in Dolla in 2021, in return for its 75 per cent equity stake from affiliated company, First Rock Capital Holdings.

It has already collected the US$$1.1 million expended and still retains a 26 per cent equity in Dolla. Mayberry CEO Gary Peart confirmed the acquisition with Our Today during an exclusive interview over the weekend.

We quizzed him about the sudden interest in Dolla acquiring three blocks of shares within a two month period between Mayberry and Supreme Ventures, where he sits as executive chairman. “There is no sudden interest here. We were always interested in Dolla; it’s just that the opportunity is just presenting itself so we bought the shares that were available,” Peart advised Our Today.

Mayberry take-over bid?

We also enquired whether the recent acquisitions would make the Mayberry/ SVL combination, the new majority shareholder in Dolla but Peart would not go in depth on that matter. However, some market interests are viewing this as the start of a take-over bid by Mayberry for Dolla citing that Mayberry has the capital and the equity holding to launch such a bid.

They also point to the fact that SVL is already in the micro-finance space and a takeover by the Mayberry/ SVL combination would provide synergy between the two micro-financiers in the current competitive Jamaican market space.