Jeffrey Prosser's Innovative Communications Corp. signed a deal Wednesday to buy Chase Bank's operations in the Virgin Islands, a sources have confirmed.
Bank employees were informed Wednesday afternoon of the purchase. According to an informed source, Prosser bought the bank's assets but not the Chase name.
A call to ICC Wednesday morning was not returned.
Reports have been circulating in the business and banking community for the past several days that a deal was close to completion. Some have speculated that the IDC benefits granted to Prosser's Virgin Islands Community Bank several years ago gave ICC an unfair advantage over others who may have been interested in buying Chase.
Prosser first approached Chase about buying its Virgin Islands operations two years ago, sources say.
Chase is the latest in a string of acquisitions by Prosser, who has become the single most powerful businessman in the territory. Along with the V.I. Community Bank, ICC owns Vitelco, Vitelcom, VitelCellular, and in the last few years has purchased St. Croix Cable TV, St Thomas-St. John Cable TV, and the V.I. Daily News.
Prosser may have had the imminent Chase purchase in mind when he offered to give the V.I. government 1,000 acres of Carambola land, and build several capital projects, in exchange for 30 year tax breaks for all IDC companies expect the Daily News.
A version of the Prosser deal was passed by the V.I. Legislature, with the support of six St. Croix senators, at-large Sen. Almando "Rocky" Liburd and St. Thomas Sen. Donald "Ducks" Cole. The remaining six St. Thomas senators and Senate President Vargrave Richards voted against the proposal.
The deal, however, was vetoed ten days later by Gov. Charles Turnbull , who said he had decided that taking some of the largest corporations in the territory off the tax rolls was not in the best interest of the territory.
Turnbull also said, however, the government was open to future deals offered by ICC.
Charlotte Gilbert-Biro, a spokesperson for Chase Manhattan Bank's corporate offices in New York City said Wednesday, "We have no comment at this time."