The chief executive of Acorn Group Holdings, Edward Kirathe, is the single-largest individual investor in the property developer with a 30.24 percent stake.
Mr Kirathe’s ownership in the company has been disclosed in documents prepared by the company in connection with its recent raising of Sh5 billion from the issuance of medium term bonds.
The value of Mr Kirathe’s stake is uncertain since the company has negative equity arising from major investments in the capital-intensive real estate business which can take years to break even.
Acorn’s chief commercial officer Kenneth Luusa has a 6.5 percent equity in the company while Peter Njenga, the firm’s chief operating officer, has his interest listed at 6.02 percent.
The holdings of the three executives and others, who have an aggregate 50 percent stake in the property developer, are through the investment vehicle Acorn Investments Limited.
The other 50 percent equity is held by private equity firm Helios through Accord Holdco. Acorn, in its current form, is defined as a joint venture between the local investors and Helios that was formally incorporated in September 2015.
It is a successor to Acorn Group in which insurer Britam Holdings #ticker:BRIT bought a 25 percent stake as it sought a platform to grow its real estate portfolio.
The two firms subsequently fell out and Britam sold its entire stake in 2015 for Sh300 million, booking neither losses nor gains from the exit.
Acorn founders, led by Mr Kirathe, afterwards announced they had created the joint venture with Helios.
The value of shares held by Acorn’s shareholders will depend on the company’s future performance and demand from investors who may want a piece of the real estate assets it is developing.
Acorn made a Sh1.2 billion net loss in the year ended December 2018, according to disclosures by the company.