BTC Sale To Barrie Holdings Ltd. Completed

September 3, 2014

eric-dobson-roy-graydon[Updated] BTC announced the completed sale of the company to Barrie Holdings Limited, a said the “transaction marks the beginning of a new era and promises to yield significant changes in the days ahead.”

Roy Graydon [pictured], the newly appointed Executive Chairman of BTC, says, “Bermuda is a unique market filled with incredible potential, making the decision to invest in it an easy one.

“We will continue to upgrade local infrastructure and ensure it exceeds the expectations of our customers. This sale marks the transformation of a company that has already contributed so much to the local telecoms industry and it is our intention to continue along that same path”

BTC CEO Eric Dobson [pictured], who will continue to manage the company, says, “Operating as an independent entity positions BTC to more effectively compete in the Bermuda telecommunications market.

“Providing exceptional customer service and launching new products is on the agenda for the immediate future. This is an exciting time for the company and the local telecommunications market place as a whole, and we look forward to the changes that lie ahead.”

“The BTC team is poised and ready to respond to the demands of local consumers and eagerly anticipate being a part of what is now, the new BTC,” the company said.

Update: In a separate statement, KeyTech said they sold 100 per cent of its interest in BTC to Barrie OpCo for $30 million, $25 million in cash and $5 million in deferred debt.

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  1. KeyTech’s “Transformational Transactions” | Bernews.com | September 4, 2014
  1. Coffee says:

    Well could you tell me again Who is Barrie Holding ltd ? Also what province is the headquarters based ?

  2. Tea says:

    Probably applied for an exemption from the 60/40 rule, and the majority shareholding isn’t Bermudian…

  3. Bermuda123 says:

    Last time I looked, Bermuda/Bermudians did not have the money to buy BTC. We should appreciate that someone with the desire to invest has done so. Well done Barrie.

  4. Jo Blo says:

    Good luck gents. Investment returns are never a sure thing. It takes b@lls to put up that kind of money on a belief everything should play out okay. That kind of courage should be commended regardless of whether its coming from a local or foreigner.

  5. swing voter says:

    Greydon is a Telecom superstar and tripleplay is his game….BTC are gonna pull all that old copper shyte and replace it with glass….CableVision/Keytech are gonna dump that satellite shyte for TV delivered via CableCo Cayman….everybody else is in deep shyte!

  6. Light Storm says:

    A quick internet search revealed the following. Barrie OpCo Ltd. is a local Bermuda company that was recently incorporated by Wakefield Quin. They also incorporated Barrie Holding Limited (also a local company) which will probably hold the shares of Barrie OpCo Ltd. This is a classic tax two-tiered tax structure for a Canadian shareholder of assets outside of Canada.

    Roy Graydon is an Operating Partner in Fraser MacKenzie Merchant Capital (FMCC) which is located in Toronto, Canada. FMCC appears to have 2 funds and Mr Graydon is an Operating Partner of the Buyout Fund so we can assume that Barrie Holdings Ltd is owned by the Buyout Fund. I couldn’t find out much information on FMMC and their website is very incomplete and under construction. There is an article about a company named Fraser MacKenzie Limited a small investment broker in Canada that closed shop in 2013. It looks like FMMC emerged from “the ashes” of Fraser MacKenzie Ltd. since several of the principals of the two companies are the same. It looks like these guys are primarily financial investment professionals.

    Here is the information on Mr Graydon on their website:
    “Roy Graydon – Roy is an experienced executive who can operate seamlessly in both public and private markets, operations and finance and who specializes in turn-arounds, strategy & direction, leadership & motivation, oversight & planning, and acquisitions & divestitures. Over the past 20 years, he has been CEO, President, CFO, and board member of several publicly traded companies, an institutional investor, and trusted M&A advisor.Roy is currently the President and CFO of Fibernetics Corporation, a 150 person-strong Canadian CLEC and ISP. Previously, as the President and CEO of Aeroquest International, in just three years Roy led the transformation of that company from a small, $8M /year business with only one product and operating in only one country, to a global business generating over $50M /year in revenue providing a diversified suite of products and services and operating on every continent in the world. While EVP & CFO of Call-Net/Sprint Canada, Roy drove the successful re-engineering of the company’s balance sheet and its re-engagement with the investment community. Using a combination of asset securitization, equity issue and the re-purchase of publicly-traded debt at a discount, the business was successfully recapitalized and ultimately sold. Prior to that, Roy was at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, where he founded their Relationship Investing activities.Roy has extensive experience as a board member of both public and private companies, including Cabo Drilling Corp. Aeroquest International Limited, Patheon Inc., Call-Net Enterprises Inc., Macdonald Dettwiler & Associates Ltd., International Comfort Products Corporation, and Cybersurf Corp.Roy has an MBA (Richard Ivey School of Business) and a B.Sc. in Geophysics (University of Western Ontario). His community interests focus around education, especially in science and technology. Roy served for six years on the Board of Trustees of the Ontario Science Centre, three of those as its Vice Chair.”

    Key Tech has had too much control of our telecomunications market since they bought Northrock and own a major piece of Cablevision. As a result of a purchase of the Cayman company they now own a majority control of Cablevision. The Regulatory Commission cant be very happy with that concentration of power since they own 95% of the ISP market (Logic and Northrock) and would have controlled 100% of the landline connection market (Cablevision and BTC). Key tech had to divest itself of something or have this transaction refused. So they let go of the weakest link, BTC. It’s ironic that BTC is the legacy company of Keytech.

    I think we are going to see lots of cost cutting at BTC. It could be brutal so it will be interesting how the unions respond.