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February 11, 2005
Jeffrey Prosser Strikes Again!
From the AP:
Belize Seizes Telephone Company From U.S
Belize has seized control of a telecommunications company that it sold to a U.S. Virgin Islands firm last year, saying the private firm has failed to pay for controlling shares, the Belize government said Friday.
St. Croix-based Innovative Communication Corp, LLC has not paid $57 million for a 52.5 percent stake in Belize Telecommunications, Belize Prime Minister Said Musa said in a written statement.
The Belize government, which signed the deal with Innovative in March, is now offering to sell the shares to local investors, Musa said. Belize officials declined to comment further.
Belize Telecommunications provides about 108,000 fixed phones and cellular lines in Belize, making it the Central American country's biggest provider.
Lanny Davis, a lawyer for the St. Croix company, acknowledged Innovative did not make the payments but did not explain why. He said the company has invested or assumed obligations amounting to more than $75 million, expanding and improving services throughout Belize.
Davis said Innovative would try to reach an agreement with the Belize government to keep control of the company, however.
Belize government's actions "have no legal basis ... and are contrary to corporate governance rules," he said.
Innovative also owns companies controlling a media network that includes Innovative Telephone, Innovative Cable TV, and The Daily News newspaper in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The company employees 660 people in the U.S. Virgin Islands and provides telephone service to more than 73,000 people.
Posted by afinta at February 11, 2005 10:29 PM
