The Jamaica Stock Exchange has suspended trading of iCreate shares and the company’s CEO has resigned!  Hold up, what?

So it’s been bombshell after bombshell over the past couple of weeks for digital media company, iCreate. I literally had this video planned out to talk about the fact that Founder and CEO Tyrone Wilson abruptly resigned last week!

And then we get the news that the JSE has suspended trading of iCreate shares for at least the next month. 

But let’s start from the top. iCreate has been under a lot of scrutiny in the past couple of months for a number of things.

One of the biggest ones is the delay in the publication of its financial reports. And the BIG discrepancies between the unaudited and audited reports. 

Just days before Wilson announced he was stepping down, the company said its second-quarter report, which was due on March 30 – it’s now August – was delayed because of the acquisition of Visual Vibe. They said the acquisition was impacting the completion of the unaudited financial statements, so they requested an extension to submit the report by August 31.

The following day, the company said that its audited financial statements should be published by September 30 – remember this date.   They also said the annual report, which should have been submitted by April 30, will be published within 15 days after that submission. 

This, of course, was a big red flag for some investors because every listed company is required to publish their financial results every quarter so that shareholders can see what’s going on in the company. So this extended delay is… unsettling, to say the least.

And it’s unsettled the JSE as well, because they’ve stepped up to say, ‘alright then… well your shares can’t trade until we see the AUDITED financials.  That’s the report they said should be ready by September 30 – six months late! 

Additionally, iCreate has been in breach of the Jamaica Stock Exchange’s share capital limit for a while now. iCreate listed on the Junior Market back in 2019.  One of the main requirements for staying on the Junior Market is that companies can’t have a share capital of more than $500 million. 

iCreate surpassed that cap in 2022 after a $650 million debt conversion. We actually had Tyrone Wilson on Taking Stock in January, and he told us that the company’s move to the Main Market should happen by February.  Again it’s August and that hasn’t happened yet.

Then there was the delay in the acquisition of outdoor advertising company, Visual Vibe. They announced that deal in July 2022, and claimed that it was completed on January 1, 2023.  But later said no wait, we actually just finalised in May. 

Plus, they’ve had a revolving door of directors and executives over the past couple years. Like every minute somebody else resign from iCreate and there’s someone else new.  In May, their Chief Financial Officer, Dwight Burchell, resigned.  In July, their brand new Deputy CEO and COO, Toni Cooke, resigned after just five months on the job. So surprise, surprise – August, and the CEO is now gone too.

On top of that, Wilson has been facing a lot of heat on social media. An anonymous group called JSE Investors United reported Wilson to the Jamaica Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Commission for various complaints, including the delay of the financial results.

Then some of you will remember that social media back and forth with another business owner, that ended up with lawyers involved.

But with all this going on, Wilson’s friend, Bluedot owner Larren Peart, posted on the app formerly known as Twitter, that Wilson actually wasn’t pressured to resign.  He claims Tyrone has been sick most of this year, and decided to step down to focus on his health.  Tyrone has suffered from sickle cell disease since birth.

Anyway, the company’s stock price is down almost 42% since the start of the year, trading at a dollar and three cents on Friday, August 18, a far cry from its $4.50 high just last year.

Since Tyrone’s resignation was with immediate effect, iCreate Chairman Arlene Martin has stepped up to act as interim president and CEO, while Ivan Carter is the interim chairman of the board of directors.

We’ve requested an interview from Tyrone, but he said he’s not doing interviews right now – understandably.  We’ve also reached out to the new interim leaders, but they’re also not speaking to the media now.  Eventually though, we will need to hear from someone in authority at iCreate.  As a publicly listed company, they are accountable to shareholders.

And that’s the bottom line.