This archive report was first published on 19 July 2021.
Kenyan businessmen Joe Wanjui and James Muguiyi have made a significant profit from the sale of their stake in UAP Holdings, a Kenyan insurance company.
According to reports, the duo sold their six percent stake to South African firm Old Mutual Holdings for R437 million (Sh. 3.2 billion) in 2021.
Old Mutual Holdings had announced in 2018 that it would buy a total of 12.7 million shares from the two traders. The company acquired 2.8 million shares from Muguiyi in the year ended December 2020 and an additional 9.8 million shares in early 2021.
Joe Wanjui, a long-serving businessman in Kenya, held 43.25 million shares, equivalent to a 20.4 percent stake through his investment vehicle Bawan Limited, prior to selling his stake. Muguiyi directly held 12.6 million shares, which were equivalent to a 5.9 percent stake.
"The registration process [for the shares] was delayed and spilled over into 2020. That was the delay but they have been paid," said Arthur Oginga, UAP's chief executive officer.
Wanjui retired as the board chairman of UAP in June 2021 after serving for 35 years. Muguiyi previously served as UAP's chief executive officer between 1988 and 2012 and is currently a non-executive director at UAP.
