Observer Media Group (OMG) is returning monies to people who hoped to buy shares in both The Daily Observer Ltd. and Observer Radio Ltd. after the company’s plan to sell majority of the shares in both businesses was halted.
The announcement came from the Chief Operations Officer (COO), Darren Derrick, on Friday. He describes the recent development as “a bit of a snag.” The Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission had told the cash-strapped company to stop the process of selling 45 per cent of its shares at USD $100, citing “deficiencies with the offer.”
“The estate decided to refund the monies because we were unsure of how long the process might take,” Derrick said. “We told people we would hold their money in escrow and it’s not for us to hold their money and people think that we just have it here….”
The company’s struggles to repay its debt to the Antigua Public Utilities Authority and internal wranglings between employees and management spilled over into the public domain recently and have left many wondering what other issues the ‘Let there be light’ company may be secretly plagued with.
Derrick says while he believes everything happens for a reason, there seems to be a “sinister undertone” since people had complained to the OMG’s credit card company, forcing the media group to be placed in the “de-risking category”, ultimately resulting in the credit card company cutting services to Observer.
“It was that little bit of sinister stuff that was the Achilles heel of of this offer,”he added.
But Derrick says when the company attempts to sell shares again, the company will try to guard against “anti-Observer action”, which may hinder the process.
The COO did not disclose how much was raised since news broke of the shares being sold just under two weeks ago. He said the estate is working towards meeting the requirements set out by the regulatory authorities before offering shares again.
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If this story was about another entity, Observer would have turned into a SCANDAL!!Guess its no fun when those who report the news become the news huh. I’m sure they would have even featured it on the Big Issues program hosted by Kieron Murdoch who needs to take some laps around YASCO
They are above their own Free Speech. When you mash their corn they bawl murder.
So Observer doing the same thing that Mr Freeland did paying back the money? Was there any fraudulent activity by observer? If so will the police step in or stay out like the Freeland case because they pay back the money?
Well well well what a country thief na lub fu see tief wid lang bag. What goes around comes around. If you spit up in the air it falls into your face……
I could not have said it any better
They were stopped in their track. They had already convinced some really stupid people that it would be monies well spend to buy their privately owned shares without having seen any financial or legal documents. In this age and time I cannot believe we really have so many dunce elements who would blindly follow some people. And the complain about party politics.
This type of public deception only happened in the early sixties after the industrial boom when people needed avenues to invest their monies. And it also appeared in the late nineties when people felt for Nigerian Scams of investments in oil exploration that would reap million and billions. And lately in the 2008 financial crash when people believed in the banking sector and placed their monies in investment vehicles they had no clue of and when the market crashed they lost all their savings. It’s a good thing our ECSE works. Because had they not interfered who knows what the final outcome may have been for these people.
Anyway perhaps they can trust me and give me the money to invest for them. Car Park needs completing and Fort James needs building.
Lol!!! Dunce elements eh!!! Many who is opposing the present administration…… If it was not for the daughter of one of the share holders of the O M G, who decided to pull the plug, then the dunce elements would have been in deep dodo….. Sad, those dunce elements are perhaps educated dunces….. they should know better!!!
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