Kenyan billionaire James Mwangi’s stake in East Africa’s largest bank now worth $49 million

Kenyan billionaire businessman and leading executive James Mwangi’s stake in Equity Group Holdings, East Africa’s largest financial services group, is now worth Ksh5.94 billion ($59.8 million), according to recent data compiled by Billionaires.Africa.

His stake in the leading financial services group is now worth $11 million less than it was on Feb. 17, exactly 257 days ago, when the group’s share price soared above Ksh53 ($0.4365) per share on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, boosting the market value of his stake to nearly $60 million.

Since Feb. 17, the market value of Mwangi’s stake in Equity Group has dropped by more than 19 percent to Ksh4.1 billion ($33.7 million), before rising to Ksh5.94 billion ($49 million) amid renewed buying interest among investors who continue to accumulate stakes in publicly traded firms that are presently undervalued.

Equity Group Holdings Limited is a leading financial services conglomerate located in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital and largest city. It operates through subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in addition to its Kenyan operations.

Mwangi, who has been instrumental in the growth and transformation of Kenya’s financial services industry, owns a sizable 3.38-percent stake in Equity Group, the largest lender in East and Central Africa.

Earlier this year, the leading businessman received dividends of Ksh798.8 million ($3.35 million) from his stake in the leading lender after the group posted a profit of Ksh40.1 billion ($350.2 million) at the end of its 2021 fiscal year.

He is also on track to receive another significant dividend in 2023, as the group delivered another strong financial performance in the first six months of its 2022 fiscal year, increasing profit by 36 percent from Ksh17.9 billion ($149.3 million) in the first half of 2021 to Ksh24.4 billion ($203.6 million).