Prime Minister Gaston Browne has suggested that Antigua and Barbuda may ultimately become the majority owner in the LIAT 2020 airline partnership, citing a need to reassess the initial valuation.
Browne expressed concern over the valuation method that currently grants Air Peace Caribbean a 70 percent ownership stake, with Antigua and Barbuda holding only 30 percent.
According to Browne, the valuation overestimated the worth of the two aircraft provided by Air Peace, which he valued at approximately $5 million each.
“What they did was calculate cash flows for ten years down the road, effectively inflating each plane’s worth well beyond its actual value,” he said. “I told them, ‘What kind of madness is that? Value the assets at market price—if it’s $5 million, then it’s $5 million.’”
Browne further noted that Antigua and Barbuda had contributed significant assets, including the old Goddard building at the airport, which the government allocated to LIAT for operational use.
He stated that this property alone likely holds a higher market value than the planes currently invested by Air Peace. “We’ve provided a building for LIAT that alone likely holds more value than the two planes Air Peace has put in so far,” he added.
The Prime Minister also voiced his concerns over the leasehold values in the new LIAT entity, stressing that the airline should be grounded in tangible assets to safeguard its workforce in case of economic downturns.
“So if LIAT 2020 doesn’t own assets, what happens if things go bad? What happens to the staff and the airline’s future? We can’t leave them with nothing,” he insisted.
In response to concerns raised by the technical committee, Browne addressed the risk associated with contributing land on a freehold basis, saying, “They told me that by putting land on a freehold basis, we may lose it. I said, ‘Are you going to protect the government and expose the staff?’”
He called for a comprehensive reassessment to ensure that all assets are valued fairly, with confidence that this would place Antigua and Barbuda in a stronger ownership position.