Kenyan multimillionaire businessman Baloobhai Patel is continuing his acquisition spree by amassing more shares in Co-operative Bank Group (Co-op Bank), taking advantage of the leading lender’s depressed share price on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
According to BusinessDaily, Patel purchased an additional 6.5 million shares in Co-op Bank worth Ksh75.5 million ($647,200), increasing his shareholding from 33.9 million shares, or 0.58 percent, at the start of 2021, to 40.4 million shares, or 0.69 percent, at the time of writing.
The acquisition comes after the Kenyan multimillionaire increased his stake in Bamburi Cement from 1.94 percent, or 7,026,790 shares, to 4.12 percent, or 14,956,990 shares, as part of his strategic efforts to diversify his holdings of blue-chip stocks.
With 40.4 million shares, or a 0.69-percent stake, Patel is the second-largest individual investor in Co-op Bank, trailing only the bank’s CEO Gideon Muriuki, who owns a substantial 1.75-percent stake.
Co-operative Bank Group is one of the largest financial institutions in East Africa, with subsidiaries in Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Uganda. As of the start of the year, the bank had assets of Ksh579.8 billion ($4.99 billion) and shareholder equity of Ksh100.2 billion ($862.35 million).
Co-operative Bank delivered its best financial performance to date in 2021, with profit increasing by 53 percent from Ksh10.81 billion ($93.04 million) to Ksh16.54 billion ($142.3 million).
As of press time on the afternoon of May 26, shares in Co-op Bank were worth Ksh11.5 per share, giving the lender a market capitalization of Ksh67.5 billion ($578.7 million), while Patel’s 0.69-percent stake is worth Ksh465.8 million ($4 million).
The new shares, which represent a significant increase in Patel’s investment portfolio, are expected to cement his position as one of the Nairobi Securities Exchange’s richest investors.
Aside from Co-operative Bank, Patel has stakes in Bamburi Cement, Carbacid Investments, Absa Bank Kenya, Williamson Tea Kenya, Diamond Trust Bank Group, and Safaricom.
