3 Kenyan Companies on Centum’s Shopping List

Centum Investment Company is in talks to complete the acquisitions of three Kenyan firms. It also plans to invest in 2 more firms based in neighboring countries.

Centum Capital Partners, a wholly-owned Centum subsidiary, plans to spend Ksh5 Billion over the next five years expanding its Private Equity (PE) portfolio.

It signals a new season for Centum which earlier in 2021 put fresh acquisitions on hold in response to the shocks of the Covid-19 pandemic, opting to invest in government bonds instead.

“We are building a promising pipeline of deals, we’re in talks with a number of investee targets that we hope to conclude in the coming months…Three of the targeted firms are based in Kenya while two are in neighbouring countries,” Centum Capital Partners Managing Director Fred Murimi noted in a statement.

He, however, failed to disclose the identities of the companies being eyed by Centum.

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Centum’s diverse portfolio has long been a draw for investors. It holds stakes in firms across different sectors including power, education, financial services and FCMG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods). Among firms in its PE portfolio are Longhorn Publishers, Isuzu East Africa, Sidian Bank and Greenblade Growers Limited.

In recent times, the firm has made lucrative exits from positions in companies including Almasi Beverages Limited, Nairobi Bottlers Limited and King Beverages Limited.

Centum is also plotting a multi-billion shilling exit from its real estate subsidiary which was valued at Ksh16.6 billion as of March.

“We are open to selling part or all of our stake in Centum RE. We are doing this to rebalance our portfolio which is currently concentrated in real estate. The money raised will be reinvested in marketable securities (stocks and bonds) and private equity to reach our allocation target in these two segments,” group CEO James Mworia revealed in September 2021.

Explaining Centum’s business model in a 2019 interview, Mworia stated: “Our value proposition is to identify assets where there is opportunity for us to create value, exceeds what the market growth is and have a very clear value creation strategy from the outset.”

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