JP Acquires Ice and Water Business in the Dominican Republic

• Jamaica Producers Group ('JP') announced that it has established Grupo Frontera Limited ('GFL' or 'Grupo Frontera'), a 50/50 holding company with Norbrook Equity Partners (‘Norbrook’). As part of the transaction, Grupo Frontera recently acquired the assets and operations of Grupo Alaska ('Alaska'), a leading ice and water company in the Dominican Republic. Grupo Frontera was established by JP and Norbrook to acquire and grow well-positioned companies in the Spanish speaking Caribbean and Central America, the first of which is Grupo Alaska. 
• JP is a Jamaican-owned multinational with its primary businesses in food and drink and logistics and infrastructure. JP owns and operates Hoogesteger Fresh Specialist BV, the market leading fresh juice manufacturer supplying Holland, Scandanavia and other markets in Northern Europe. It is also the largest shareholder of CoBeverage Labs SL, a fresh juice manufacturer supplying Southern Europe. JP’s specialty food interests include its Tortuga subsidiary, through which JP operates a Jamaica-based bakery that supplies Tortuga Rum and Spirit cakes to over 15 countries. 
• JP Snacks Caribbean, a subsidiary of JP is a leading regional producer of tropical snacks. JP Farms, Jamaica’s leading banana farm, is the largest private sector employer in St. Mary, Jamaica. JP Group’s logistics interests include Kingston Wharves Limited, a regional multipurpose port, Geest Line Limited, a UK based shipping line connecting European, Caribbean and Latin America markets, and JP Shipping Services a freight forwarding and logistics enterprise based in the UK. 
• This investment in the Dominican Republic will allow JP to tap into this lucrative market while leveraging its expertise in the food and drink business. The Dominican Republic, which was one of the fastest growing countries prior to the pandemic, is expected to grow by 8.2%  in 2021 and 4.8% in 2022, as a swift national vaccination campaign and resilient private consumption drive domestic activity.

 (Source: JSE News, Fitch Solutions & NCBCM Research Team)