Bidders have until April 25 to submit Expression of Interest

Durrant Pate/Contributor

Popular Jamaican attraction, Mystic Mountain Limited (MML), which has been in receivership for a year, has formally been put on the auction block.

This has been done by the attraction’s Receiver/Manager, Wilfred Baghaloo, of the auditing and management consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers Tax & Advisory Services.

The move comes as no surprise as, from the get go, Baghaloo hinted that the company, which has been declared bankrupt, would be unable to pay its creditors.

Interested parties are to submit an expression of interest by April 25 with shortlisted applicants being notified by April 28.

The participants will then have the chance to conduct their necessary due diligence exercise with a view to submitting their formal bids on June 13.

A successful bidder will be announced by on or about June 22.

The Ocho Rios, St Ann attraction, known for its tropical rainforest canopy and wild rides, was earlier this year certified bankrupt by the government’s Office of the Supervisor of Insolvency (OSI).

Missed payment triggered call by bondholders

This was after the attraction’s secured senior bonds, which pay 7.125 per cent interest and which were scheduled to mature in 2025, were called as being due and payable in full in January last year. This was done after MML missed scheduled interest payments in 2020 to bondholder, Sky-High Holdings Limited.

The January 2021 demand notice for payment in full by Sky-High Holdings Limited sparked a year-long insolvency process that saw the Supreme Court being asked to weigh in on various aspects of the matter. Sky-High Holdings Limited is seeking to recoup its investment of close to $1.3 billion.

The directors of Sky-High are businessman Adam Stewart and company executive, Ian Haynes.

Stewart is executive chairman of Sandals Resort International, ATL Group, while Haynes is the chief financial officer of Island Routes Caribbean Adventures, a company that manages tours and attractions bookings in some 11 English, Dutch and Spanish-speaking Caribbean tourist destinations.

MML offers a unique array of adventure tours for all ages such as the Sky Explorer, Bobsled Jamaica, Ragamuffin rollercoaster, e-ATVs and Ziplining. The attraction, which is run from leased premises on the hillside, overlooks the picturesque Ocho Rios waterfront, a stone’s throw from the world-famous Dunn’s River Falls and close to the Ocho Rios pier.