Category Archives: Centum

M&A Moment: July 2017

Various recent deals in the last few weeks and months in East Africa – compared to 2016 and 2015

Banking and Finance: Finance, Law, & Insurance

  • Commercial Bank of Africa (Kenya) is acquiring 100% of Crane Bank Rwanda from DFCU of Uganda
  • Direct Pay Online Group acquired 100% of Virtual Card Service in Botswana and Namibia. This will be followed by the acquisition of 100% of VCS business in South Africa (via Balancing Act Africa)
  • Chase Bank suitors announced by the Business Daily – are led by Societe General, and State Bank of Mauritius (who have also just completed the acquisition of Fidelity Bank)
  • Barclays PLC sold 22% of Barclays Africa
  • KCB was linked to another bid for NBK, although the CMA denied any knowledge of such a deal.
  • Kuramo Capital, the largest shareholder of Transcentury is acquiring 25% of Sterling Capital stockbrokers, the second largest bond trader in the country
  • Diamond Trust to acquire Habib Bank Kenya for shares worth Kshs 1.82 billion (~$18 million). EDIT At the end of July, the Competition Authority approved the deal on condition that Diamond Trust retains at least 41 employees of Habib Bank post-transaction and the Central Bank communicated that the deal would be concluded on 1st August when Habib would cease to exist as a licensed bank.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of a minority stake of 10.68% of I&M Holdings by CDC Group PLC together with certain veto rights.
  • I&M Holdings also has announced the successful completion of a merger with Giro Commercial Bank
  • Carlyle to acquire Global Credit Rating Co. (South Africa)
  • Letshego Holdings Limited (Botswana) acquires afb Ghana
  • Atlas Mara to acquire 13.4% equity in United Bank Nigeria, from Clermont Group for $55 million, increasing its stake to 44.5%
  • Sanlam Group has completed the acquisition of a majority stake in PineBridge Investments East Africa Limited. PIEAL is a leading asset management company in East Africa with operations in Kenya and Uganda – and the competition authority approved this at the end of July.
  • EDIT Alexander Forbes Kenya to change name & brand (to Zamara) after a change of shareholding to comply with new pension law that caps foreign ownership to a maximum of 40%.

Beauty & Pharma/Chem

  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorized the acquisition of Dan Pharmacie by Mimosa Pharmacy.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorized the acquisition of Sole Control of Syngenta AG (Syngenta) by China National Agrochemical Corporation (CNAC).
  • The Authority excludes the proposed acquisition of 72% of the issued share capital of Chemserve Cleaning Services Limited by Eye Level Exposure Limited from Part IV of the Act .. (their) combined turnover of KSh. 138,076,904 is below the required merger threshold for mandatory notification
  • Abraaj Group gets approval to acquire 75% of Healthlink Management (Nairobi Women’s hospital?)
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has approved the proposed acquisition of 100% of the issued share capital of Monsanto Kenya by Bayer Aktiengesellschar/KWA Investment. Businessman Chris Kirubi revealed that he holds a 45% stake in agrochemical firm Bayer East Africa.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of the shares in the Dow Chemical Company by Dowdupont Inc. and the Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of the shares in E. I. Du Pont De Numerous and Company by Dowdupont Inc.
  • A local drug store is set to be acquired for Sh. 2 billion. Imperial Health Sciences, which based along Mombasa Road will be acquired by South African investment firm Mara Delta Property Holdings. “The facility will be leased back to Imperial Health Sciences on a 10-year triple net basis, denominated in US$ and guaranteed by Imperial Holdings Limited.”
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorised the acquisition by Kibo Plastic Packaging of a minority (14.02%) shareholding with controlling interest in Blowpast Limited.
  • EDIT Japanese Kansai Plascon Africa has acquired local paint maker Sadolin for Kshs 10 billion.

Food & Beverage

  • Africa’s largest Coca-Cola bottler- Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Proprietary Limited (CCBA) has acquired Equator Bottlers, the third largest Coca-Cola bottler in Kenya. Equator Bottlers, was previously a subsidiary of Kretose Investments Limited owned by the Shah family, has been one of several authorized Coca-Cola Bottlers, which supply products in the Western regions of Kenya. It was established in 1966 and is based in Kisumu. EDIT  At the end of July, the Competition Authority authorized the deal on condition that the merged entity retains at least 2,279 employees post-transaction and that Coca Cola file a compliance report in two years.

  • The Abraaj Group is to acquire 100% of Java House Group from Emerging Capital Partners – the story was first broken at Wallace Kantai’s blog and the deal is said to be worth about $130 million. Java House Group was established in Nairobi in 1999. In 2012, Emerging Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in the Company, with the founder retaining a minority stake. ECP has helped Java House grow from 13 shops in Nairobi into East Africa’s largest casual dining brand, building an ‘eat-out’ culture. Today, it has an unrivalled regional footprint of 60 stores across 10 cities in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
  • Catalyst Principal Partners has, through a newly established firm, Britania Foods Limited, acquired the business and operations of Jambo Biscuits Ltd, being a leading biscuits manufacturer in Kenya with its flagship “Britania” brand.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorized the acquisition of assets of Wanainchi Marine Products (Kenya) by One Holdings.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorized the acquisition of Sosco Fishing Industries by One Holdings.
  • Distell, Africa’s leading producer of spirits, wines, ciders and ready-to-drinks (RTDs) continues to ramp up its investment on the African continent, with the acquisition of a further 26.43% in KWA Holding East Africa Limited (KWAL), Kenya’s foremost spirits manufacturer and distributor, from Centum Investment Company Limited. The African liquor giant now owns a majority shareholding of 52.43% in KWAL, having previously acquired a 26% stake from Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) in 2014.
  • Netherlands-based private equity firm DOB Equity announced that in which in December 2016 that it had acquired a stake in Kenya’s Countryside Dairy, a Nyahururu-based facility with a processing capacity of 100,000 litres of milk per day.
  • Amethis and Metier to acquire East African FMCG firm, Kenafric Industries.. Two private equity funds have bought a 40% minority stake in Kenafric Industries as the firm eyes regional growth…popular products under the confectionery and culinary segments include Fresh brand of chewing gum and Oyo food additive. It also manufactures snacks and ready-to-drink juices at its plant in Nairobi’s Baba Dogo. The business, started 30 years ago by Velji Punja Shah and his four sons, is looking to increase its coverage of other East African countries, saying it currently sells 45% of its products outside Kenya.  
  • EDIT: The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorised the proposed acquisition of indirect control of Weetabix East Africa by Post Holdings through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Westminster Acquisition.
  • EDIT:  Twiga Foods, the Kenyan business-to-business food supply platform announced today that it has successfully raised a Series A funding round including $6.3 million in equity and $4 million in debt instruments.
    • The round was led by Wamda Capital and includes Omidyar Network, DOB Equity, Uqalo, 1776, Blue Haven Initiative, Alpha Mundi, and AHL.
    • Today, Twiga is the largest distributor of several basic food staples in Kenya, having sold over 55 million bananas alone and delivering over 4,000 orders a week.
    • Additional to the Series A round closing, Twiga closed some $2 million in grant funding from USAID, GSMA, and others to support bolt-on farmer services, financial inclusion, and first of their kind domestic food safety initiatives.

Hotels/Tourism

  • Simba Corporation acquired a 35% minority stake in Hemingways Holdings and plans to grow from its current three properties: the Olare Mara and Villa Rosa managed by world leading hoteliers, Kempinski, and Acacia Premier Kisumu, as Hemingways is the parent company of three iconic properties that represent the definitive portfolio of luxury travel in Kenya: Hemingways Watamu, Ol Seki Hemingways Mara and Hemingways Nairobi. The transaction also includes Express Travel Group, a subsidiary of Hemingways that provides comprehensive and high quality travel management services through its international franchise partnerships with American Express Global Business Travel and Europcar International as well as through Hemingways Expeditions, a premium Destination Management Company. EDIT: The competition authority approved the deal at the end of July.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorized the proposed acquisition of control of Abercrombie & Kent Kenya (Abercrombie) by Yan Zhao Global, from A&K Cayman L.P and other minority shareholders
  • Thomas Cook India acquired Kuoni Travel specialists in 17 countries (includes Private Safaris E.A. in Kenya)
  • Accor Hotels will relaunch Tune hotel under the ibis Styles brand.
  • Older hotels – 680 and Boulevard, two older iconic Nairobi hotels have been recently bought by the Deputy President, William S. Ruto.

Logistics, Engineering, & Agri-Biz

  • Isuzu will become a 57.7% shareholder in Isuzu East Africa through the purchase of General Motors’ shareholding in the business. The other shareholders will remain as Kenya’s Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (20%), Centum Investments (17.8%) and Itochu Corporation (4.5 %). EDIT: At the end of July, the Competition Authority of Kenya authorised the deal on condition that the merged entity absorbs all 383 GMEA employees, continues after-sales service of all the vehicle brands, Isuzu and Chevrolet sold and leased by GMEA for duration of all the after-sales service contracts, honours all existing dealership agreements between GMEA and its dealers, and communicates to all GMEA customers on the continuation of after-sales service.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorized the proposed subscription for 24.99% shareholding in Trans-Century with 100% of the redeemable preference shares in TC Mauritius Holdings by Kuramo Africa Opportunity Kenyan Vehicle.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorized the transfer of 50% of the issued shares in Safal Building Systems to Mabati Rolling Mills.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of 100% of Kenya Kazi by Gardaworld
  • Rift Valley Railways (RVR), the company that runs the century-old Kenya-Uganda railway, has moved to court in a last-minute effort to stop the concession manager, Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), from terminating its 25-year contract.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of Reunert Limited of 75.39% of the ordinary shares in Metal Fabricators of Zambia PLC.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of 40.7% of the ordinary shares and control of ARM Cement Limited by CDC Africa Cement.
  • Crown Paints to buy back 15% of its stock, the first company to do this.. now allowed by Kenya’s new companies law.
  • EDIT Athi River Mining is selling its Mavuno Fertilizer subsidiary to Omya and Pinner Heights to focus on its cement business.

Oil/Energy

  • German-based solar electrification firm Mobisol has acquired pay-as-you-go off-grid (PAYG) solar industry software firm Lumeter.
  • Hass Petroleum sold a 40% stake to Oman Trading International to fund growth in Eastern Africa
  • Tullow Oil plc sold stakes in Uganda to Total Oil for $900M, and will retain 10% of that and of a $3.5 billion pipeline through Tanzania
  • Vitol Africa gets approval to acquire 19.91% of Vivo Energy from Shell Overseas Investments
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of indirect control in Dalbit Petroleum by Humphrey Kariuki Ndegwa.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of the retail petroleum business of Hashi Energy by Lake Oil
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of the retail petroleum business of Hashi Energy Limited by Lake Oil Limited
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of 100% of Gulf African Petroleum Corporation by Total Outre-Mer S. A. on condition that Total Outre-Mer S. A. comply with the following hospitality and employment conditions— including All agreements remain in force with relation to the Mombasa Terminal; and the merging parties are limited in the termination of employees of Gulf African Petroleum.
  • PIC South Africa will take up all shares not taken up in the Kengen Kshs 4.4 billion on offer. The South African government employees pension giant with $133 billion of assets will take up 351.2 million new shares at Kshs 6.55 each (totaling Kshs 2.30 billion) as other shareholders get diluted by 5.33% each e.g. The Kenya Government which was a 74% shareholder before, will have 70% afterwards.

Real Estate & Supermarkets

  • The Competition Authority of Kenya authorized the proposed joint venture between Helios Investment Partners and certain shareholders of Acorn Group.
  • Cytonn Investments Management (Kenya) to acquire a $10 million stake in Superior Homes.
  • Konza Tech City is seeking investors to apply for land to build campuses, BPO’s, offices, hotels, and student housing etc.
  • China Wu Yi acquires Sh530m Kilifi land.
  • In April last year, Mara bought a 45.5% stake in Naivasha-based Buffalo Mall for Sh. 440 million. Mara has valued its investment in Buffalo Mall at $6 million (Sh. 603 million), implying a capital gain of Sh. 163 million in less than a year. The mall now brings in 2% of the multinational’s total revenues and represents 2% of its assets. The property is however yet to make a profit, with the six months ended December showing a pre-tax loss of Sh.2.8 million.
  • EDIT  Uchumi expects to conclude a deal with an investor that is worth Kshs 3.5 billion of new shares.

Telecommunications, Media & Publishing

  • Vodafone sold a 35% stake in Safaricom to South Africa’s Vodacom (link)
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of certain passive infrastructure of East Africa Towers by Kenya Towers.
  • Catalyst Principal Partners has acquired a significant minority interest in Kensta Group, a 52-year-old East African printing and packaging company Kensta Group manages a diverse set of companies within East Africa namely Transpaper (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda), Express Automation (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda), Vivid Printing Equipment, Fusion Inks, Zenith Rubber Rollers and Phiramid (Zambia).
  • Kenyan IT multinational Craft Silicon has acquired a Sh51.5 million minority stake in restaurants listing portal EatOut, marking its second major backing of a local tech company. Craft Silicon is a founder-shareholder of Little, which is also backed by local telco giant Safaricom. (via Business Daily)
  • Deal undone: Ghafla Kenya CEO Samuel Majani spoke about how a Ghafla merger with Ringier unraveled and on a lot of the intricacies of the issues such as exclusivity, assets & liabilities, dealing with partners & other shareholders, and on merging staff, customers & systems.
  • Deal undone: a Merger with JamboPay was unstuck after a court finding, and the founder of JamboPay, the firm that supplies Nairobi County’s e-payments platform, won a protracted battle against a rival firm over use of its trade name.
  • Mara Social Media acquired global Instant Messaging & communications platform “Nimbuzz” which has over 200 million users and is available for Android, iPhone, and Symbian, MIDP, Windows Phone, BlackBerry and PC & MAC clients
  • Film Studios has been acquired by MoSound
  • MTN is to acquire MultiChoice Africa – owners of @DSTV & GoTV
  • EDIT The Competition Authority authorised the proposed acquisition of fibre optic cable from Bandwith  & Cloud Services Group by Safaricom.
  • EDIT Safaricom’s $1 million Safaricom Spark Venture Fund announced its sixth and final investment in agri-tech startup iProcure – which seeks to increase agricultural output in Kenya, which has remained comparatively low to other countries due to challenges including access to and use of quality inputs. Other invests include FarmDrive, Sendy, and mSurvey.
  • EDIT IFC invests Sh619m ($6 million) in mobile tech firm Africa’s Talking with the funds earmarked for the company’s expansion in Africa beyond the current seven markets where it has a presence.

Other

  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the acquisition of Section Investment by Kisima Management.
  • The Competition Authority of Kenya has authorized the proposed acquisition of 43.8% of Kinetic Holdings by Catalyst Kinetic Investments.

$1 = Kshs 103

Bond Moment: M-Akiba, EABL and other NSE Bonds

Update on NSE Bonds or bonds listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchanges and other bonds, since the last bond moment in May 2015.

Globally, the bond market is bigger than equities one, and according to the latest CMA Kenya quarterly statistics (PDF),  bond market turnover in Kenya has been larger than the equities one since 2009 mainly due to government bonds. In 2016, equity market turnover was Kshs 147 billion (down from 209 billion) in 2015. Bond market turnover was Kshs 433 billion (~$4.2 billion) in 2016 (up from 305 billion in 2015). Turnover has been 99% due to government treasury bonds, while that of corporates is less than 1% of bond turnover in a year – except in the years 2010 and 2011.

If one doesn’t want to buy NSE bonds directly, there are CMA-approved bond funds for investors including the Apollo Bond Fund, Co-op Bond Fund, Diaspora Bond Fund, Dyer & Blair Bond Fund, ICEA Bond Fund, Madison Asset Bond Fund, and the Old Mutual Bond Fund. These fixed income /bond funds total Kshs 1.4 billion (or 2.5% of the 57 billion) of funds under management by fund managers in Kenya.

Government Bonds

  • M-Akiba: Following the successful launch of M-Akiba, Kenya’s Kshs 150 million, 10%, tax-free, 3 year bonds that were entirely sold via mobile phone (the minimum investment was Kshs 3,000 (~$30))  another Kshs 4.85 billion (~$47 million) is to be floated in June 2017.
  • Following the launch of a green bonds program, banks, under the ambit of the Kenya Bankers Association (KBA), have partnered with Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) towards raising the country’s first bank-supported climate change-aligned corporate debt instruments in the next six to eight months. The capital flows from the green bonds in Kenya will go towards funding bank clients that require finance for clean and sustainable development projects in the priority areas of energy, agriculture, transport, infrastructure, building and urban planning, and water and waste management…so far, banks operating in South Africa and Morocco are already tapping the green finance opportunities in partnership with local municipalities and development finance institutions. projects. Also in South Africa, the World Bank’s International Finance Corp (IFC) successfully raised a 9-year, 1 billion Rand Green Bond via the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. More on the Kenya Bankers Association Sustainable Finance Initiative.
  • The Kenya Government finance bill 2017 will give Islamic finance bonds the same treatment as conventional bonds and also allow Islamic finance products in the cooperatives sub-sector.
  • The Rwanda government is about to issue a 10 billion Rwanda franc (~$12 million), 7-year Treasury bond. It will be issued on May 24 and the funds will be used for infrastructure project and capital markets development. The bonds will be listed at the Rwanda stock exchange and trade in multiple of 100,000 francs (~$120).
  • Nigeria has asked Goldman Sachs & Stanbic IBTC Bank to advise it on the sale of a debut “diaspora bond” targeted at Nigerians living abroad. – via @kenyanwalstreet

Corporate NSE Bonds:

  • Centum announced a Kshs 2 billion one year 14.5% note for the Two Rivers Development.
  • Cytonn is seeking advisors for their medium-term notes to raise Kshs 5 billion from the public towards the financing of Cytonn real estate’s (CRE) projects including Taraji Heights in Ruaka and The Ridge in Ridgeways.
  • On Monday EABL listed the Kshs 6 billion (~$58 million) of bonds at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) as the second and final tranche of its Kshs 11 billion shilling medium-term note program that was launched in 2015. The tranche attracted bids worth Kshs 8.4 billion, representing a 41% over-subscription. The bonds maturing in March 2022 will pay an annual fixed interest of at least 14.17% and the raised funds will go towards optimising operations and restructuring the brewer’s balance sheet. “This is the first corporate bond to be listed on the bourse this year, and we are confident that its success, a subscription rate of 140.9% will open the doors for more listings in the course of this year,” said Nairobi Securities Exchange CEO Mr. Geoffrey Odundo. Citi upgraded EABL as a buy, due to its low price – seeing value even as the beer market was flat. The first half of FY17 (ended December 2016) showed decent volume growth for EABL (+5% YOY) but weak sales growth (-6%) as beer demand continued to shift from mainstream to value. EABL is doing well in spirits but struggling in beer, and Tanzania continues to present a challenge. – Citi report.
  • A South African credit-only micro-finance institution Real People Investment Holdings which issued a multi-billion bond in Kenya late 2015, has received a negative rating. Global Credit Ratings (GCR) said it had downgraded the primary and special servicer quality ratings assigned, with the outlook accorded as negative.
  • Transcentury bondholders lost 50% in a restructuring buyout deal.

Other Bonds

  • The African Development Bank had led the establishment of an African Domestic Bond Index and a $200 million African Domestic Bond Fund to deepen liquidity in local bond markets. It has also issued local currency bonds in 11 countries, including Kenya, South Africa, Egypt, Ghana, Nigeria, Botswana, and Uganda. leading the African Union in mobilizing domestic resources required to execute the Bank’s five developmental priorities dubbed the ‘High 5s’. – Light up and power Africa, Feed Africa, Industrialize Africa, Integrate Africa and Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa.
  • The Africa Finance Corporation issued a US$500 million 7 year Eurobond. The senior, unsecured Eurobond which carries a coupon of 3.875% was priced to yield 4.000% and matures in April 2024. It attracted orders of US$2.4 billion, representing about 5 times over-subscription from 231 investors. The bond will be listed on the Irish Stock Exchange. The Eurobond was distributed to investors in Europe (29%), United States (25%), United Kingdom (24%), Asia (18%) and the Middle East (4%). Citi, J.P. Morgan, MUFG and Standard Chartered Bank acted as Joint Lead Managers and Bookrunners for the U.S. dollar-denominated issue.
  • FSD Africa (Financial Sector Deepening Africa) and KfW Development Bank will invest £15.3 million (~$19.8 million or Kshs 2 billion) in the African Local Currency Bond Fund enabling it to step up its engagement with developmentally important industry sectors such as green energy and housing and take on investments in fragile and conflict-affected states. ALCBF is managed by Lion’s Head Global Partners (LHGP) Asset Management LLP.
  • Bonds, Loans & Sukuk Africa “the continent’s only Pan-African debt event” takes place on 13th & 14th March 2018, at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.

Two Rivers Development Bond

Peek at the Two Rivers bond prospectus

This week Centum investments announced a Kshs 2 billion one year 14.5% note for the Two Rivers Development Limited – which is 58% owned by Centum, 39% by Avic, and 3% by ICDC.

Two Rivers had a facility of Chase Bank to finance infrastructure developments, which they had drawn on partially when the bank closed. They also had Kshs 650 million of deposits at Chase.

Two Rivers owns 50% of Two Rivers Lifestyle Centre and 100% of phase two of Two Rivers, apartments, and offices. 50% of the mall, the largest in Sub-Saharan Africa (i.e. outside South Africa) which opened on Valentines’ Day was sold to Old Mutual in 2015 for Kshs 6.4 billion. Two Rivers Development was valued at Kshs 41 billion in March 2016.

To pay for the retirement of the bond, they are selling 11 plots of land (some residential, some mixed use, one for a hotel) which have a combines market value Kshs 6.6 billion, and a mortgage value of Kshs 5.6 billion. Interest will be paid at maturity, and the note is guaranteed by Centum Investments.

The Centum investor briefing (PDF) for 1Q2107 identifies education, leasing, and agribusiness as key areas of growth at Centum in the future.

$1 = Kshs 103

Reading the Tea leaves at Centum, Kenya Airways, Safaricom – Part II

 Follow up from two years ago

Three companies that had their year-end in March 2016 have just published their annual reports which are now found on their individual websites. On Thursday both Centum and Kenya Airways boards will face their shareholders at the annual general meetings (AGM’s). Centum is ending a 9 year dividend drought, and Kenya Airways which had another a record-breaking loss, now believes the worst os now behind them. Meanwhile Safaricom will create 6 ‘mini-Safaricoms’ that operate in six Kenya regions and create more segment products like Blaze.

Centum:

  • Has a (massive 192) page annual report (up from 160 pages), and the company has 37,325 shareholders.
  • Will pay Kshs 665 million in dividend (1/= per share) ending a long dividend drought (since 2009)
  • Significant joint ventures are Amu Power (51%) and Two Rivers Lifestyle Center (50% – following a partial disposal). Old Mutual advanced Kshs 5.7 billion to Two Rivers with the debt convertible to 40% in the equity of Two Rivers, with shareholders loans previously held by AVIC and ICDC offset against the consideration. Further developments at Two Rivers  include luxury apartments, a five-star hotel and residences, a healthcare facility and additional structured parking. Property owners who have purchased plots at Two Rivers include  South Africa’s City Lodge Hotel group who are establishing a three star hotel; and Victoria Bank, who are constructing an office block.
  • The completion of the transaction on disposal of interest in Two Rivers and the acquisition of additional interest in Kilele, Sidian Bank and Almasi resulted in a net gain on disposal recorded in equity of Kshs 2.5 billion.
  • The half-year report will be available online to shareholders who register.
  • NAS, where they own 15% will continue diversifying its income streams by launching two Burger King restaurant franchise outlets in Kenya.
  • Will enter the healthcare business with a significant investment this year
  • Centrum plans to build 20 schools across Africa in the next three to five years, as part of a tripartite consortium with SABIS and Investbridge Capital. The consortium has acquired a suitable site along Kiambu Road that will host the first SABIS school in Sub-Saharan Africa, offering both 8-4-4 and K-12 education curricula with a capacity of up to 1,700 students.
  • In agri-business, Centum incorporated Greenblade Growers and acquired a 120 acre farm in Ol Kalou  that will be used for value addition and will have a capacity to process 10 tonnes of fresh produce per day, to key export markets of Netherlands and later the  UK.
  • Energy: to date, the company has invested Kshs 3.1 billion in the development of two landmark projects – Amu Power and Akiira One Geothermal.
  • At the AGM, Centum Chairman James Muguiyi, retires after 13 years and also the Principal Secretary – Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, (representing the Kenya government) will retire from the board and not seek re-election.
  • Shareholders will be asked to approve the incorporation of Zohari Leasing, Rea Power Company,  Le Marina  (Uganda) and Two Rivers Development Phase Two. Also that the acquisition of 100% shares of Vipingo Estates and an additional 29% of Longhorn Publishers be ratified (they paid Kshs 393 million for the new shares).
  • Shareholders will also approve a name change from Centum Investment Ltd. to Centum Investment PLC.
  • Shareholders will approve an indemnity of the company directors .. against all relevant loss including any liability incurred by him (her) in defending any civil or criminal proceedings.. the directors may decide to purchase and maintain insurance, at the expense of the company.

Kenya Airways (KQ) kq-ticket-sleeve-old-style

  • The report is 149 pages (up from 130 pages) and KQ has 78,577 shareholders (a slight increase as  their share price has dipped)
  • The Group operates domestic flights and flies to 53 destinations in Africa, Middle East, Asia and Europe.
  • After their 31 March 2016 year-end, they received Kshs 10 billion from the Government of Kenya, (being the second and final tranche of the KShs 20 billion (US$ 200 million) bridge financing that has been on-lend from African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank), and they sub-leased two Boeing 787 & three Boeing 777-300 aircraft as part of the turnaround initiatives in order to improve its liquidity position.
  •  JamboJet tax losses stood at Kshs 856 million, and Kenyan income tax laws allow for carry forward of tax losses for a maximum period of 10 years.
  • Short term facilities were drawn down from Equity Bank, Jamii Bora Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank, Commercial Bank of Africa, I & M Bank, Chase bank, National Bank of Kenya, Diamond Trust Bank, Co-operative Bank, NIC bank and Eco bank. During the year, the airline negotiated for extended repayment periods for all short-term loans ranging from 4 – 7 years except for Kenya Commercial bank. The Government of Kenya Loan is at 10.20% far much more than previous financing that was at 4-7%. Citi JP Morgan Kshs 78 billion is at 1.5% , Afrexim Bank 23 billion is at 4%, while other short-term Kshs 22 billion is at 9%
  • In addition to the Kenya government, KLM, and IFC, top 10 shareholders now include Mike Maina Kamau, Vijay Kumar Ratilal Shah, Gulamali Ismail and Galot International.
  • They implemented a business class upgrade system in January 2016, under which economy class passengers can bid & buy upgrades to fly on  business class.
  • A total of 63 bird strikes were reported in the year (down from 77 last year).

 Safaricom

  • The report is 172 pages (up from 136 pages) and the company has 600,000 shareholders (down from 660,000).
  • At the AGM a few weeks ago, shareholders approved payment of a dividend for Kshs 0.76 per share for 2016 and also a special bonus dividend of Kshs 0.68 per share.
  • According to a True Value report (they commissioned it, and it was done by KPMG), the total value the company contributed to Kenyan society in FY15 was Kshs 315 billion and they  sustained over 682,000 jobs.
  • Bonga points totaling Kshs 3.2 billion are a liability to be converted to revenue as customers utilize their points
  • Lent Kshs 500 million to Safaricom money transfer services, a subsidiary that derives revenue from international money transfer services.
  • The license  fee for M-pesa dropped from 10% to 5% from August 2015.
  • Donated Kshs 414 million to the Safaricom foundation
  • Spent Kshs 9.3 billion on the National Police Service communication project that’s now 92% complete.
  • They now require all new business partners to sign up to the “code of ethics for businesses in Kenya” during the on boarding process, and 269 companies have signed this.
  • They were fined Kshs 157 million by the Communications Authority of Kenya for not complying with its quality of service thresholds.

Snooze and Lose Your Investments: Part II

Centum Investments, which recently announced a record profit, and the end of a seven-year deliberate dividend drought, has been running ads in the newspapers and online, asking shareholders to register their names & details via SMS to ensure that they get their payments on time.

At the same time, Centum has also published a list (PDF), on its website, of shareholders who have not claimed their dividends. The list has about 9,000 names, and that’s a shocking stat, considering that Centum  has about 37,000 shareholders.

No shareholder likes to lose out on a dividend or an investment. And regular shareholders who attend AGM’s have also been aware about resolutions at companies to comply with a legal requirement to  surrender unclaimed assets, including dividends, to the government.

Almost all large public companies, except those which listed recently, list & highlight their liability from unclaimed dividends (owed to shareholders) for many years in their annual reports. But if 25% of Centum shareholders, have not claimed their dividends, totaling Kshs 78 million after almost 8 years, it raises many questions about why this situation exists. But one reason could be that shareholders have been unable to receive their dividends because some companies and their registrars have made it very difficult for shareholders to prove, claim and receive their rightful dividends. lost shareholders

  • $1 = Kshs 100
  •  A  registrar is an institution,  responsible for keeping records of shareholders..and  when an issuer needs to make dividend payment to shareholders, the firm refers to the list of registered owners maintained by the registrar.
  • Centum ads say the registration is free, but normal SMS costs seem to apply.