Kenyan tycoon Baloobhai Patel transfers Bamburi cement stake to family office

Kenyan multimillionaire Baloobhai Patel has officially transferred his 4.12-percent stake in Bamburi Cement to his private investment office, Aksaya.

The shares were previously held in the businessman’s name.

According to news reports, the stake transfer to Aksaya occurred late last year after Patel announced that his various stakes in companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange would be migrated to the investment firm.

Patel, 85, transferred the shares to his family office to consolidate his property, private equities, and public-traded equities into a single vehicle as part of a succession plan. His son Rohan Patel, who manages Aksaya and represents his father on various boards, has taken a more active role in managing the listed equities worth tens of millions of dollars.

Patel’s Bamburi stake is currently worth $2.73 million. The cement manufacturer’s share price has fallen to Sh25.2 (18 cents) from highs of Sh38 (27 cents) in the last year as investors reacted to a dividend decrease and lower profitability.

Bamburi’s net income fell 86.9 percent to Sh181 million ($ 1.3 million) in the fiscal year ending December 2022, owing to lower sales and higher costs.

The company’s net profit retreated from Sh1.38 billion ($ 10 million) posted in the previous year as sales dropped by six percent to Sh38.99 billion ($ 281 million).

Apart from Bamburi, Patel and his family own stakes in financial services provider Sanlam and industrial gases giant Carbacid, among several other companies.

Wealthy Africans who own significant stakes in public companies are transferring their shareholdings previously held in their names to their family offices and private investment vehicles.

Of late, Nigerian banker Herbert Wigwe has been acquiring more shares in Access Corporation through his family office, Tengen Holdings.

Nigerian oil tycoon Austin Avuru, the co-founder of oil producer Seplat, mentioned in his autobiography that he would transfer his shareholdings in the oil company and his other equities to AA Holdings, his family office.

Nigerian mogul Tony Elumelu has been buying shares in Transcorp and United Bank for Africa through his Heirs Holdings, while the Moi family of Kenya transferred their 1.03-percent stake in Standard Chartered Bank Kenya to Shawmut, their private investment firm.