This archive report was first published on 26 August 2020.
On August 26, 2020, Cooperative Bank of Kenya completed the acquisition of a majority stake in Jamii Bora Bank for Sh1 billion, renaming it Kingdom Bank Limited.
As part of the deal, the entire board of Jamii Bora was ousted, and a new CEO, Anthony Mburu, was appointed. Mburu, who previously served as the director for credit management at Co-op Bank, will lead the transformation agenda at the rebranded lender.
The new board of Kingdom Bank Limited will be chaired by Margaret Karangatha, with Co-op Bank managing director Gideon Muriuki, Macloud Malonza, Julius Sitienei, and Mburu serving as members.
Co-op Bank stated that the transaction had been completed, and the new board was appointed to drive the transformation agenda.
Former owners of Jamii Bora, including private equity firm Catalyst Principal Partners, had invested hundreds of millions of shillings in acquiring stakes in the loss-making bank. However, they will now hold only a 10 percent stake, with Co-op Bank's majority ownership giving it the right to appoint the lender's board and management.
Former Jamii Bora CEO Sam Kimani and his successor Tim Kabiru, who were set to receive an estimated Sh238 million combined through their investment vehicle Asterisk Holdings, missed an opportunity to recoup part of their capital when talks with former CBA Group collapsed in January 2019.
