Tag: Divestment

James Finlay divests from flower business with sale of Kericho farm

Frank

KENYA – Black Tulip Group has bought Kericho-based flower farm from James Finlay Kenya for an undisclosed amount as the latter focuses on its tea and coffee business. The sale will see workers at the Lemotit farm in Londiani, Kipkelion East, which produces roses and cut flowers for the United Kingdom and European markets, declared redundant. “The sale of Lemotit farm marks the end of Finlay’s restructuring to concentrate fully on the beverage market,” said Stephen Scott, Finlay Flowers General Manager. Black Tulip is expected to take over the business…

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Africell exits Ugandan market after 7 years

Frank

UGANDA – Telecoms company Africell is to exit the Ugandan market, ceasing operations by 7 October 2021 due to what it terms as “long-term commercial outlook.” In a press release, Africell said it had worked closely with the government and Uganda Communications Commission (UCC) on confirming its decision. The details of this were not disclosed, however, GSMA has been notified of the termination of roaming partner agreements. Africell Uganda’s statement read:  “Africell’s decision to leave Uganda is based on a careful assessment of the long-term commercial outlook for the business…

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SONANGOL accelerates divestment and explores novel financing solutions in response to energy transition

Frank

ANGOLA – Angola’s National Oil Company (NOC) Sonangol, has responded to the changing global financial landscape by accelerating its restructuring program and exploring new financial solutions that meet the requirements of today’s international debt market.   The current market is significantly impacted by considerations about energy transition, which has become a defining factor for most major oil and gas sector lenders. As the international community seeks consensus about how to drive energy transition globally, major international banks, including many that are prominently involved in the financing of oil and gas…

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Investment firm Centum to sell shares in TRDC and retire US$37m short-term debt

Frank

KENYA – Investment firm Centum is seeking to sell part of its shareholding in the Two Rivers Development Company (TRDC) Ltd to retire a US$37.03 million short-term debt whose repayment is taking a toll on its finances. Chief Executive Officer James Mworia told The East African that the proportion of shares to be surrendered to the new investors will be determined by the current valuation of the Two Rivers Development project whose initial investment cost is estimated at US$231 million. “The restructuring of the TRDC balance sheet involves adding equity…

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Injaro Agricultural Capital Holdings Limited divests its 30% stake in seed producer M&B

Frank

GHANA – Injaro Agricultural Capital Holdings Limited (IACHL), the impact investment fund managed by Injaro Investments, has announced that it had sold all of its 30% stake in seed producer M&B Seeds and Agricultural Services Ghana Limited (M&B). This sale of shares represents a total exit from M&B after a 10-year holding period. As a result of the investment, M&B achieved 9-year average revenue growth of 67.5% per year, added 5,000 tonnes of process capacity and produced in 2020 more than 26 times its annual production as of 2011. M&B…

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Etihad Airways to sells stake in Air Seychelles

Frank

SEYCHELLES – The government of Seychelles had reached a deal to take full ownership of Air Seychelles, following talks with Etihad Airways in which the UAE-based airline agreed to relinquish the 40 percent stake it holds at a steep discount, Seychelles News Agency has reported. Air Seychelles had owed US$72.3 million to Etihad; with the 79 percent write-down, Seychelles will pay US$11.34 million. A total of $71.5 million is still owed to bondholders. Etihad Airways entered a partnership with Air Seychelles in 2012, when it bought a 40 percent share…

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Medical underwriter AAR Insurance to shut its Tanzania unit

Frank

TANZANIA – Medical underwriter AAR Insurance has commenced the process of winding-up of its Tanzania business citing financial difficulties. The move comes just after the Kenyan business recorded a 55 per cent drop in performance for the year ended December 2020, attributed to high claims due to Covid-19 pandemic. In a memo to staff, AAR Health Care Limited Acting CEO Andrew Rowell said the firm has been facing financial difficulties “for some time” now worsened by the failure of the medical insurance model in Tanzania, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a…

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Tullow Oil Plc to divest its asset in west coast of Central Africa

Frank

WEST AFRICA – Tullow Oil Plc TUWOY plans to divest its overall assets in the productive fields of Equatorial Guinea and the Dussafu Marin in Gabon on the west coast of Central Africa. Tullow Oil signed the individual sale and purchase agreements with Oslo-listed Panoro Energy ASA (or Panoro) for all of its holdings in the Equatorial Guinea and Dussafu assets. Notably, Panoro will have a 14.25% ownership interest in the exploratory Block G offshore Equatorial Guinea and an extra 10% interest in the BW Energy-operated Dussafu Marin Permit, wherein…

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Orascom Holdings divests its stake in Sarwa Capital for Beltone Securities

Frank

EGYPT – Orascom Investment Holding, a holding company, has sold its entire stake in Sarwa Capital Holding for Financial Investments, Beltone Securities Brokerage. The company stated in a statement to the Egyptian Stock Exchange (EGX) that Orascom Investment has sold 350.08 million shares of Sarwa Capital, which represents its entire stake in the company by 29.25 percent. It added that the total value of the deal amounted to LE 1.6 billion (US$100m), with an average selling price of LE 4.58 (US$0.31) per share. EGX announced the implementation of a deal…

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Vodafone Group set to sell its Ghanaian business as it plans to pay down debt

Frank
Vodafone extends zero charge on mobile money transfers

GHANA – Vodafone Group, multinational telecommunications company, is considering options to sell its majority stake in its Ghana business to Johannesburg-listed Vodacom Group, in which Vodafone is the biggest shareholder, as it focuses on reorganising the group and paying down debt, reports Bloomberg. According to people familiar with the matter, the West African country’s government will have to approve of any deal, they said. Vodafone holds a 70% stake in the Ghana business, with the balance held by the West African country’s government. The state has taken a proactive interest…

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