The family of Kenya’s second and longest-serving president, Daniel Arap Moi, have sold off a 51-percent stake in Siginon Aviation Limited, a Nairobi-based logistics and aviation handling company, to National Aviation Services (NAS).
With the sale, the Moi family will pocket Ksh1.7 billion ($15.2 million) from NAS, a Kuwait-based aviation services provider led by CEO Hassan El-Houry.
Siginon Aviation is an operating subsidiary of Siginon Group Limited.
The group is controlled by the family of the late Kenyan head of state together with his former personal assistant, Joshua Kulei, who owns a 12-percent stake in the group.
In October, the Moi family and Siginon Group’s management signed a strategic partnership with NAS after the company expressed an interest in acquiring a 51-percent stake in the Nairobi-based aviation handling company.
Through the acquisition, NAS is expected to build on its presence in Africa with two airports in Kenya — Nairobi and Eldoret — and to ultimately expand its global presence and expertise in airport services as an industry leader.
In addition, the acquisition will put the Kuwait-based aviation company in a position to leverage Siginon Aviation’s deep operating experience in East Africa as it moves to strengthen its ground-, ramp- and cargo-handling capabilities in the region.
The Siginon-NAS deal makes it the second major deal involving the family of the late president and their associates following the death of Moi in February 2020.
Aside from its investment in Siginon Group, East Africa’s largest integrated logistics services provider, Moi built and acquired businesses in agriculture, media, security, construction, real estate, transport, education, hospitality and manufacturing during the 24 years that he was president.
The Moi family is reputed to be the second-largest landowner in Kenya after the Kenyatta family, with more than 300,000 acres of prime land in their portfolio.
Photo credit: Croes, Rob C. / Anefo – Dutch National Archives, The Hague, Fotocollectie Algemeen Nederlands Persbureau (ANeFo), 1945-1989, bekijk toegang 2.24.01.05, Bestanddeelnummer 930-3252, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, Photoshopped.
