Kenyan multimillionaire Mukuha family receives $31.5 million from Naivas stake sale

The family of late Kenyan retail mogul Peter Mukuha Kago has received an estimated Ksh3.7 billion ($31.5 million) from the sale of an 8.5-percent stake in Naivas International, Kenya’s leading supermarket chain, in a deal valued at Ksh45.6 billion ($379 million).

IBL Group, a multinational conglomerate led by Mauritian businessman Arnaud Lagesse, joined up with French financier Proparco and German sovereign wealth fund DEG earlier this year to purchase an 8.5-percent interest in Naivas for Ksh3.7 billion ($31.5 million).

The 8.5-percent stake is valued based on the $100-million purchase price that IBL Group paid to acquire a 26.32-percent ownership position in the supermarket chain.

The transaction, which increased IBL Group, Proparco, and DEG’s shareholdings to 40 percent, is part of the Kenyan Mukuha family’s strategic drive to capture value from their retail investment.

Despite selling a fraction of its stake to investors, the Mukuha family retains a majority 60-percent shareholding in the retailer, which is led by David Kimani Mukuha, who has been in charge since Peter Mukuha Kago died 12 years ago.

Naivas Supermarket is Kenya’s largest supermarket chain. It is based in Nairobi and was founded by Peter Mukuha Kago in 1990.

Under the leadership of the multimillionaire Mukuha family, the family business is an example of a success story that has grown despite the COVID-19 pandemic due to its strong business model, its 84 outlets in 20 cities and towns throughout Kenya, and its modern grocery retail in leading urban centers across the East African country.

Mukuha heirs Martha Waithera, Grace Muthoni, and David Kimani own shares in Naivas through the investment entity Gakiwawa Family, which has now reduced its position in the company to 60 percent.