There’s still treasure in the Caribbean, apparently. A private-equity consortium has spent $370m to acquire the Courts Caribbean furniture chain, one of the largest leveraged buyouts in the region’s history.
Actis, a buyout firm which invests in emerging markets, teamed up with Cobalt Holdings, a subsidiary of a Central American retailing group, for the deal, which covers operations in 12 countries and was financed in seven local currencies.
Frederick Morris, a director of KPMG Corporate Finance, said, “Structuring the financing for this transaction took an enormous effort. The senior debt was co-arranged by Scotia Capital and RBTT, Trinidad. A second-lien tier of debt and a Payment-In-Kind note is being financed by Citigroup. The security package spans all 12 countries.”
And they say the islands are just about beaches and Bacardi.