Antigua & Barbuda’s negotiations to purchase Barbados’ stake in LIAT ‘put on hold’

The Antigua & Barbuda government has confirmed that negotiations with Barbados to become the majority shareholder in the cash-strapped regional airline, Leeward Island Air Transport (LIAT), “have been put on hold”.

Antigua & Barbuda is looking to become the largest shareholder government of the airline and is in negotiations with Barbados to acquire most of that country’s shareholding in the Antigua-based airline. The other shareholders are Dominica, St Vincent & the Grenadines and Grenada.

Antigua & Barbuda currently holds 34 percent of the shares and if it succeeds in convincing Bridgetown to part with its LIAT shares, would have 81 percent of the airline that employs over 600 people and operates 491 flights weekly across 15 destinations.

The administration in Antigua & Barbuda said it would seek to acquire the LIAT shares owned by Barbados through a take-over of the liability of Barbados to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The twin-island federation said the aim was to finance keeping the three planes owned by the CDB since Barbados was prepared to sell them.

According to a statement issued after the weekly Cabinet meeting in St. Johns, Antigua, the current position on the negotiations had been discussed.

“Those negotiations have been put on hold by a number of events in both Antigua & Barbados, and by the counter-offer made by the selling state which Antigua has rejected. No date for the re-start of negotiations has yet been set,” the brief statement noted giving no indications as to what are the “events” holding up the talks.

In July, Antigua & Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that the US$44 million price Barbados was asking for its LIAT shares was too steep, insisting that while his government wanted a bigger stake in the regional airline, it had no intention of “giving away money”.

“I understand mathematics and I understand percentages, and I also understand value for money. So if we were to settle at US$44 million, that would be a steal for Barbados, and we are not in the process of giving away money.

“We are in the process of creating value and to get fair value for the people of Antigua & Barbuda, so as far as I am concerned – and I have said this to the Prime Minister of Barbados (Mia Mottley) because she knows my thinking – discussions cannot start at US$44 million. She knows my position and has since come down,” he said then.

Barbados has said that it does not conduct negotiations in the public domain and has refrained from making public statements on the issue. -(CMC)