BTL's new owner Jeffrey Prosser had his say on the news last night but today the man who shepherded the deal through many turbulent times - had very little to say.
We caught up with the prime minister at his office - who declined any detailed discussion of the deal - saying only that he's happy the deal has gone through.
Hon. Said Musa, Prime Minister
"We are very pleased that it has come to this point and we are hoping that the matter can be complete now with the transfer of the shares and the money on the 31st of March which is next Wednesday."
Media Question,
"Are you planning to release a detail of the agreement at any point?"
Hon. Said Musa,
"Yes the details will be released as we go along."
Media Question,
"Any time frame?"
Hon. Said Musa,
"No."
Alfonso Noble,
"So anytime after the deal is sealed?"
Hon. Said Musa,
"Yes after the deal is sealed in the sense of the actual completion which takes place on the 31st and then further details will be made available."
But the UDP isn't waiting around for that disclosure - it's preparing a full on assault on a transaction which the party says guarantees Prosser a $30 million annual profit and, "joins the long list of disadvantageous deals to Belize including Novelo's, the tourism village, BWSL and, Intelco."
And it's a deal that the party intends to challenge - in court apparently. The UDP points to BTL's articles of association authorize the board to stop any non-Belizean person or company from owning more than 33% of BTL. With that, the UDP's release says that BTL's board is obligated to refuse to register the transfer of 52% of the company to ICC.
And in a quite cute play, the UDP's release calls on Belizean citizen Michael Ashcroft and his directors from his Belizean company Carlisle who control the board to not register the transfer. Of course, they don't have to push very hard at an open door; it is widely believed that Ashcroft would be glad to see the sale go down. And in fact, the ill-timed February 6th agreements between BTL and Speednet may have been orchestrated for that reason. And, in his interview last night Jeffrey Prosser said as much, conceding that the BTL/Speednet deal was struck to try and rattle him. It'll be interesting to see how this all plays out, but the UDP has not yet made clear how far it will challenge it.