Oceanic already has a 49 per cent stake in Centennial, with the other 51 per cent controlled by Centennial Corporation, an American firm that is listed on the NASDAQ.

Oceanic, also an American company, was the firm that actually paid the Jamaican Government US$45 million for one of two cellular licences that were auctioned in 1999. It later sold 51 per cent of the local operating company to Centennial, with the partnership adopting the Centennial name.

The sale by Centennial America of its shares in the local subsidiary has come as no surprise to those in the industry who have been tracking the company's well-publicised financial problems in America. Centennial has been affected by the so-called dotcom meltdown that has been taking place across the stock exchanges of America within the past several months. The tech-heavy NASDAQ has been particularly bruised by the bear run.

Paulwell as well as others in the industry suggested yesterday that the take-over by Oceanic would have no impact on the local operation.

For example, Patrick Terrelonge, the principal of InfoChannel, an Internet service provider, said the sale would have no impact on his company's operation. Centennial Corporation bought 40 per cent of InfoChannel a few years ago, as it strategically angled for a deeper stake in the island's telecoms industry, once fully liberalised next year.

"Shares are bought and sold in countries all the time," said Terrelonge yesterday. "This transfer of shares doesn't affect InfoChannel in any way whatsoever."

Centennial Jamaica, whose parent has a heavy presence in Puerto Rico, was surprisingly late in getting off the ground in providing cellular services locally, having acquired the licence the same time as Digicel Jamaica which began operating last year April.

But it came to the industry with alliances, and an aggressive campaign which the directors felt would have given it a fair chunk of the large and growing market. It formed an alliance with Jamaica Lottery Company which immediately provided it with outlets for its phones and call times (cards) at the hundreds of outlets operated by the lottery firm.

Nevertheless, its estimated 50,000 customer base lags far behind the over 700,000 that its two competitors -- Cable & Wireless and Digicel -- evenly share.

Centennial's sale is coming at a time when the Government is trying to off-load a fourth cellular licence, but has so far failed to attract a bid at the minimum established price of US$12 million.

Yesterday, Paulwell said that both Centennial and Oceanic were still discussing the sale and that appropriate notification would be made to the relevant United States authorities later this week.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/html/20020715T210000-0500_28936_OBS_CENTENNIAL_SELLS_OUT.asp