The year 2021 was characterised by new significant deals across the corporate sector after a lull induced by the Covid 19 pandemic.
The merger and acquisitions activity cut across key sectors including financial services, real estate, telecommunication and agriculture. Some of the key ones included:
Unga Group sells Ennsvalley Bakery to logistics company
Unga Group exited its baking business for the second time with the sale of Ennsvalley Bakery to a logistics company, just a decade after it acquired it.
The company sold its bread business to BigCold as it sought to cut costs and improve efficiency.
The Nairobi Exchange-listed company had in 1990s sold its stake at Elliots Bakery and acquired Ennsvalley, the makers of premium bread in 2014 as it sought to diversify its income and cut overreliance on milling of maize and wheat flour.
The sale of the bakery business came at a time when bakers are struggling with high cost of production amid low demand for bread due to reduced purchasing power by consumers as a result of decreased income.
The cost of wheat at the international market, where Kenya acquires over 75 percent of its annual needs, has gone up by nearly 30 percent, prompting a price rally on the price of bread.
The company has been grappling with competition in the baking business from firms like mini bakeries, retail chains like Naivas and Quickmart as well as established bakers like Broadways, whose cost of bread is lower when compared with Ennsvalley high-end variety.
KCB buys Rwandese lender Banque Populaire du Rwanda
KCB Group buys Rwandese lender Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) from London-listed financial services firm Atlas Mara LimitedKCB Group during the year completed the acquisition of Rwandese lender Banque Populaire du Rwanda (BPR) from London-listed financial services firm Atlas Mara Limited.The acquisition is set to give KCB a larger footprint in retail banking in Rwanda, building on its existing corporate business that has been the strength of KCB Bank Rwanda.Kenya’s high rate of financial inclusion and digital banking have forced local lenders to look outside the country’s borders for growth.Besides the acquisitions in Rwanda and Tanzania, KCB is also interested in acquiring a bank in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where foreign exchange trades are a major source of revenue for lenders.KCB says the acquisitions reflect its strategy of expanding its operations in the regional market. Big banks led by Equity, KCB, I&M and DTB have been […]
