Deal to be closed within 30 days and thereafter, RJRGLEANER Group will have two seats on the StarApple board

The RJRGLEANER Communications Group is acquiring a 15 per cent equity stake in StarApple Analytics Limited, a start-up data analytics and artificial intelligence consulting company operating in Jamaica.

The RJRGLEANER Group has announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire the 15 per cent equity stake in StarApple Analytics, which plans to offer services regionally and beyond. The acquisition is being executed through the group’s St Lucia-based subsidiary, Media Plus Limited.

The deal is expected to close within 30 days and Media Plus Limited will thereafter have two seats on the StarApple board. This investment in StarApple Analytics continues the RJRGLEANER Group’s strategic objective of diversification into complementary businesses following the increase in its ownership stake in e-commerce business, Gustazos to 50 per cent and the acquisition of a 10 per cent stake in digital marketing player, ePost Caribbean Limited.

The investment in StarApple also aligns with the group’s strategy of building capacity to harness insights from its vast store of market data to buttress business decisions and enhance client offers.

Both RJRGLEANER and StarApple pleased with the deal

In commenting on the transaction, RJRGLEANER Group CEO, Gary Allen said, “RG (RJRGLEANER) has already benefited from StarApple’s impressive data analytics services through an existing commercial relationship and now looks forward to executing many opportunities which have surfaced from the valuable business insights gained through that engagement.”

StarApple, which was founded in December 2019, provides three main service offerings including data analytics consulting, artificial intelligence model development and corporate data analytics training. The company is poised to exploit growing corporate demand for its services arising from ongoing digital transformation strategies.

In his remarks, StarApple CEO Adrian Dunkley commented, “The amount and variety of existing and new data generated in the world today are unprecedented. As this growth continues, so do the opportunities for organisations to create value from their data. StarApple Analytics unearths meaningful insights from data and is excited at the prospect of helping clients turn those insights into competitive advantages and tangible returns. “

He explained that, “the investment from the RG group provides the company with working capital support needed to accelerate client acquisition.”