Rum Distillers on auction block again
Government will be selling Rum Distillers Ltd. This company helped mash up the UNC in 2001.
Another attempt will be made to sell Rum Distillers Ltd, once the only profitable arm of Caroni Ltd.
However, the prized rum stock, which includes dozens of casks of aged rum, will not be for sale. No reason has been advanced for this decision.
PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd will be handling enquiries, according to an advertisement in the Sunday newspapers.
The company’s assets will be sold, on an “as is where is” basis which probably means buildings, equipment and machinery at Frederick Settlement.
During the last days of the United National Congress (UNC) administration in 2001, Rum Distillers Ltd led to friction between then Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and Prime Minister Basdeo Panday.
Ramesh derailed the UNC Government’s plans to sell the company to C.L Financial on the grounds that the value of the rum stocks was under-valued. Not to mention the fact that Panday’s friendship with party financier Lawrence Duprey probably influenced the decision to sell this company and Tanteak to C.L. Financial.
It is understood that there has been considerable pilferage of the aged stocks over the years and some casks may contain little rum.