Kenyan businessman John Kimani’s stake in Kakuzi now worth more than $22 million

Kenyan media tycoon and multimillionaire businessman John Kimani’s stake in Kakuzi Plc is valued at more than $22 million, making him one of the Nairobi Securities Exchange’s wealthiest investors.

Kakuzi is an agricultural cultivation company that is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Avocados, blueberries, macadamia nuts, tea, cattle, and commercial forestry are among the products grown, processed, and sold by the corporation.

Kimani, who owns significant stakes in Centum Investments and Nation Media Group, owns 34.54 percent of Kakuzi, which translates into 6,762,133 ordinary shares.

As of press time on Oct. 3, Kakuzi shares on the local bourse were trading at Ksh394.50 ($3.267), unchanged from their opening price this morning, as investors continue to closely monitor market sentiments and economic data.

According to Billionaires.Africa data, Kimani’s stake in the agricultural company is now worth Ksh2.67 billion ($22.1 million), boosted by the acquisition of an additional $1.4-million stake nearly four days ago, as he continues to consolidate his position as one of the richest investors on the local bourse through strategic acquisitions in companies with impressive fundamentals.

Kimani became the third-largest shareholder in Centum Investment Company earlier this year after investing over $1.7 million in a second stake in the country’s biggest publicly traded investment company.

His equity holdings in Kakuzi continue to generate impressive returns as he received a Ksh139.3-million ($1.2 million) dividend from the agricultural company on May 20.

The news came as Kakuzi paid shareholders a dividend of Ksh22 ($0.189) per share, a 22-percent increase from the Ksh18 ($0.154) per share paid last year, despite reporting a 48.6-percent drop in earnings from Ksh622.03 million ($5.43 million) in 2020 to Ksh319.74 million ($2.8 million).

Kakuzi signed a strategic partnership agreement with Driscoll’s, a California-based seller of fresh berries, to export blueberries in commercial quantities to European, Middle Eastern, and Asian markets as part of its efforts to strengthen earnings and expand its revenue base.