Nand Persaud bids for three sugar estates; DDL opts out of race for Enmore Estate

The owners of ‘Karibee’ rice, which had previously expressed an interest in purchasing the Skeldon Sugar Estate, has submitted bids for that Estate along with Rose Hall and Enmore.

Bids for the three estates are being valued by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which released the names of the companies that submitted their proposals.

The parent company of Nand Persaud & Company limited, Guygulf International Trading Development Industrial and Financial LLC, registered in Florida, was the only one to bid for all three of the estates.

According to the Special Purpose Unit (SPU), which was set up to privatise four of the sugar estates, five companies submitted bids.

With the exception of Nand Persaud, one other company, D Rampersaud and Co. Ltd. –a Trinidadian company placed a bid for the Skeldon Estate.

In 2017, D Rampersaud and Co. Ltd. signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Guyana to formulate and facilitate the development of a feasibility study for an integrated sugarcane processing facility for Skeldon.

The company representatives met with Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder in 2016 and expressed an interest in developing an integrated sugar to ethanol and electric power project in Guyana.

According to the requirements for purchasing the estates, the potential investors must provide a plan which outlines that they are going to stay in the cane industry –not necessarily in sugar but in the cultivation of cane which can be used for ethanol and other purposes.

This is to ensure the companies pay for the infrastructure built by the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) over the years and also employ fired sugar workers.

Liberty Investments Inc. from Southern California, United States of America placed a bid for the Enmore Estate.

Liberty Investments Inc. according to its website, provides a full range of construction services and investment opportunities.

It was expected that the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) will bid for the Enmore Estate as the local beverage company had expressed an interest in investing to sustain its production of its world-renowned rum.

A significant shortfall in molasses was experienced by the company after the closure of three GuySuCo estates and severely impacted its ability to meet its commitments to local and export customers.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, DDL said it has invested “considerable time and financial resources in a due diligence process to determine the level of investment required to turnaround the Enmore Estate.”

However, in its due diligence exercise, DDL said it was unable to find a model for the Enmore Estate that would properly fit within its current investment and development strategy.

DDL Chairman, Komal Samaroo was quoted in the statement saying that the company will quickly engage the new owners of the estate after it is sold “to ensure that we secure supplies of molasses for our distillery.”

If the estate remains unsold, the company said it will “equally reengage to determine if there is a model that works for our shareholders.”

Meanwhile, Industrial Equipment Sales and Service Incorporation (IESS) and Kadem Sugars Inc. Bid for the Rose Hall Estate.