UK billionaire, US group

sounded out on Port deal

By NEIL HARTNELL
Tribune Business Editor

Sir Jack Hayward and his family trust have sounded out a UK billionaire with Central American interests and a US group, whose representative is a Grand Bahama-based former American security agent, about becoming alternatives to Hutchison Whampoa as purchasers of their Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) stake.

Multiple sources have confirmed to Tribune Business that Sir Jack and the Hayward Family Trust have approached Lord Ashcroft, the British billionaire who is vice-chairman and a major donor to the UK's conservative party, and a US group whose 'point man' is Ben Bell, a former top security official in the US Transportation Security Administration who founded a Freeport office for his Global Information Group, an information processing and compilation centre, as possible buyers of their GBPA stake.

Despite increasing pressure to sell to Li Ka-Shing's Hong Kong-based conglomerate, Sir Jack is doing his best to resist by seeking out alternative buyers, publicly stated that there were "other people from other countries than communist China" interesting in acquiring the GBPA - a thinly-veiled reference to Hutchison Whampoa.

Some observers have told Tribune Business that they were startled to see Sir Jack make such a public criticism of the company that is effectively Port Group Ltd's joint venture partner in Freeport and Grand Bahama, but the British businessman - well-known for being bullish and forthright in his opinions - is very much his own man.

He is likely to have reacted angrily against attempts to push him and the Hayward Family Trust into selling their stake to Hutchison Whampoa, something both Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham's government and the late Edward St George's estate appear to desire.

Hence Sir Jack's move to sound out other potential purchasers, including Lord Ashcroft, whose estimated personal fortune of £1.1 billion dwarfs the annual £875 million gross domestic product (GDP) of his adopted homeland, the central American state of Belize, where he has numerous business interests.

However, Lord Ashcroft has become embroiled in an increasingly acrimonious row and public war of words with the Belizean government of Dean Barrow, which has accused of him of being "predatory" and attempting "to subjugate an entire nation to his will".

The Belizean authorities have accused Lord Ashcroft of negotiating a deal with the previous administration that saw the taxpayer effectively underwrite his telecoms interests, something the UK lord and peer has angrily denied, his spokesman insisting he has no equity interests in the Belizean telecoms sector. Lord Ashcroft and his team have also reacted angrily to the other accusations, denying them and accusing the Belizean government of 'playing politics' in their decision to target him.

Given the pressure he is under in Belize, Lord Ashcroft and his business empire have already begun to seek out new business opportunities in the Caribbean, his Belize Bank and parent group, BB Holdings, having moved into both the Turks & Caicos and Trinidad & Tobago.

It would therefore be no surprise to see Lord Ashcroft take an interest in the Bahamas and the Grand Bahama Port Authority, especially with both himself and Sir Jack likely to move in the same social/business circles and hold similar views.

Indeed, Belize Bank has already demonstrated an interest in the Bahamas, having attempted within the past year to acquire Ansbacher (Bahamas) when it was up for sale. However, it was knocked out of the running by the Central Bank of the Bahamas, which did not want Belize to become Ansbacher (Bahamas) home and primary jurisdiction supervisor.

But apart from Lord Ashcroft, multiple sources confirmed to Tribune Business that Sir Jack and the trust had also been talking to a US group represented on Grand Bahama by Mr Bell, a Fortune Cay resident who is a former director of the Office of National Risk Assessment (ONRA) in the US Transportation Security Administration.

Mr Bell set up the Freeport office of Global Information Group five years ago as an entity designed to help "fight terrorism and major international financial crimes" through collecting and analysing huge amounts of data.

"There is a real need for solid international data that can help spot disturbing patterns, predict threats and protect citizens and borders," Mr Bell said, describing Global Information Group as an information processing and aggregation firm.

The company had a partnership with the LexisNexis Group, which delivers legal, business, government and tax information to legal, corporate, government and academic clients in 100 countries on six continents.

However, Mr Bell and Global Information Group have not been controversy-free, with some media reports describing him as a former "high-ranking intelligence agent". There have also been concerns about what exactly Global Information Group does with all the data it collects, and whether personal privacy could be endangered.

Sources

Some sources have speculated that given Mr Bell's background, he could be acting for right-wing US interests determined to prevent what they may perceive as a 'Chinese takeover' of Grand Bahama, an island situated just off the eastern US seaboard.

It is unclear how the Obama administration views the deepening of Chinese economic interests in the Bahamas, not just potentially with the GBPA and Hutchison Whampoa, but with the likelihood of investment by two Chinese state-owned entities in the $2.6 billion Baha Mar project at Cable Beach.

However, former US ambassador to the Bahamas, John Rood, twice hinted heavily that the former Bush administration would be less then pleased if Freeport effectively became a 'company town' under Hutchison Whampoa. This raises the spectre of competition for domination between the US and China over major parts of the Bahamian economy.

The Government has moved to create the conditions for a settlement of the three-year GBPA ownership dispute between the Hayward Family Trust and St George estate by only renewing the work permit of Port chairman Hannes Babak until year-end. It is understood that no further extensions will be forthcoming.

This, at least the theory goes, will sever the links between Sir Jack and Mr Babak, and put pressure on the former to settle with the St George estate. Once a settlement is achieved, the Government's preferred option - something they would never have previously contemplated - is for both sides to sell their 50 per cent stakes to Hutchison Whampoa, with the company then handing responsibility for Freeport's governance, regulatory and quasi-governmental functions back to the Government.

The Prime Minister is now focusing on righting Grand Bahama and Freeport's ills, feeling he has done as much as he can for Nassau in the circumstances, and sees the GBPA ownership dispute as the key obstacle to these plans - which include the $100 million cruise ship terminal and a possible revitalisation of LNG on Grand Bahama. He wants a settlement of the dispute to be achieved by year-end, hence reports of his plans to appoint a minister for Grand Bahama.

While Sir Jack searches for alternatives, some observers have questioned whether any other buyers would gain government approval, given the preference - currently - for Hutchison Whampoa.

The Prime Minister has said he is likely to visit the company's Hong Kong headquarters before year-end, and has much to talk about, including the potential Foxwoods management deal for Our Lucaya.