Moi family of Kenya buys back majority stake in power company from steel magnate Narendra Raval

Daniel Arap Moi’s family has repurchased a majority stake in Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power from Devki Group, a Kenyan privately-owned conglomerate led by businessman Narendra Raval.

The lucrative deal, spearheaded by Gideon Moi, one of the sons of Kenya’s late president, Daniel Arap Moi, is part of his efforts to retrieve some of the family’s assets.

The transaction, which comes nearly five years after Raval acquired a majority stake in the geothermal venture through an entity called Sosian Energy, concluded after the company was awarded rights to build a 35-megawatt steam plant from Geothermal Development Company.

Confirming the deal, Raval, who spent Ksh80 billion ($699.9 million) on the geothermal assets through Devki Group in 2017, said he sold Sosian Menengai Geothermal Power back to Gideon Moi, a Kenyan legislator.

“I sold back my stake in Sosian at a lower price than I had bought it. Gideon is the majority owner,” Raval said.

The deal comes about four months after the Moi family sold a 51-percent ownership stake in Siginon Aviation Limited, a Nairobi-based logistics, and aviation handling firm, to National Aviation Services.

The family collected a total of Ksh1.7 billion ($15.2 million) from the sale in the Nairobi-based logistics and aircraft handling firm, while keeping a significant 12-percent holding in Siginon Group.

In addition to their stake in Siginon Group, the family controls 1.03 percent of Standard Chartered Bank of Kenya through its private investment entity, Shawmut Limited.

With almost 300,000 acres of valuable property in its portfolio, the Moi family is said to be Kenya’s second-largest landowner behind the Kenyatta family.

The family controls the majority of Standard Media Group, which includes the prominent TV network Kenya Television Network, as well as newspapers and radio stations. According to unofficial figures in Kenyan media, the Moi family’s fortune is estimated at over $3 billion.