Equity to cede 2.3pc stake in Congolese bank acquisition bid

Equity on Tuesday last week announced that three institutional investors — German firm ProCredit, Belgian development finance institution BIO and Dutch fund DOEN — that respectively own 61 per cent, six per cent and 12 per cent of the Congo bank — are willing to sell their stake to the Kenyan lender [...]

Kenya’s merger, acquisition deals slow down in 2015

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Kenya have slowed down in the first four months of 2015 compared to a similar period in 2014 despite the multi-billion shilling Equity and Centum share deals. Data compiled by advisory firm Burbidge Capital on corporate deals in East Africa shows that this year has seen 11 M&A deals compared to 17 in the first four months of 2014 [...]

Shilling drop lifts BAT stock as exports eyed

British American Tobacco Kenya (BAT) rose 4.6 per cent on Friday in what analysts linked to investor expectation of the weak shilling raising export earnings. The stock closed at Sh772 compared to Sh738 on Thursday, reversing a downward trend that has seen it slide from a peak of Sh1,050. Standard Investment Bank (SIB) has a sell recommendation on the company’s stock, giving it a fair value of Sh599.30 [...]

Africa Oil completes sale of Sh10bn shares to private equity firm Helios

Africa Oil, the exploration partner of Tullow in Kenya, has concluded a Sh10 billion ($100 million) private placement to private equity firm Helios. The cash from the sale of 12.4 per cent stake is intended for investment in East Africa. In a statement, Africa Oil said it had issued shares to Stampede Natural Resources, a fund associated with Helios Investment Partners that earlier sold half its stake in Equity Bank [...]

Kenya Airways pilots ordered to shelve strike plan

The High Court has stopped Kenya Airways pilots from going on strike until a dispute with their employer over mode of hiring flight crews for the national carrier’s low-cost airline is determined. KQ said it had been forced to cancel several flights since its pilots started a go-slow to protest the carrier’s decision to lease crew for Jambojet, its budget subsidiary. The airline said it had lost Sh50 million in cancelled flights since start of the go-slow in March [...]

Treasury bill sales achieve only 40 per cent subscription in May

The Treasury bill auctions in May achieved only 40 per cent subscription as tight liquidity in the money market hit the primary sales. According to Central Bank of Kenya, the market has been tight for most of May as a result of mop-ups in support of the weakening shilling. In view of the tight liquidity the average interbank (overnight) rate increased to 13.3 per cent at the close of business on Friday, the highest since August last year [...]

Watchdog allows ex-Blackwater to buy the whole of Phoenix

The competition watchdog has approved full acquisition by Frontier Services Group, (FSG) of Kenyan-owned Phoenix Aviation. Last April, FSG acquired 49 per cent of the aviation firm, but has now acquired 100 per cent stake. The deal anchors the American-owned firm as one of the major logistics and transportation firms in the region [...]