This archive report was first published on 4 October 2019.
On October 4, 2019, Centum Investment Company announced the completion of the sale of its 53.9% shareholding in Almasi Beverages Limited (ABL) and 27.6% shareholding in Nairobi Bottlers Limited (NBL) to Coca-Cola Sabco East Africa Limited (CCSEA), a wholly owned subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa Limited (CCBA).
According to Centum, the sale marks another important milestone for the company, which has been a key player in the beverage industry since its original investment in Rift Valley Bottlers and Mt. Kenya Bottlers in the 1970s.
Centum Group CEO, Dr. James Mworia, commented on the transaction, saying: “The sale of ABL and NBL marks another important milestone for Centum. We are pleased to have played a role in providing strategic guidance to its well-experienced management on revenue enhancement, efficiency improvement, and organisational effectiveness. Following our exit to CCBA, which is one of the largest bottlers in the world, we believe they are uniquely placed to create the next phase of value within the businesses. Centum remains committed to its vision of being Africa’s foremost investment channel and will seek to redeploy the funds to cash-generative businesses in line with our investment strategy.”
As at March 31, 2019, Centum held its investments in ABL and NBL at a total value of KES 16.8 billion. The sale by Centum of its shareholding in ABL and NBL was for a total consideration of KES 19.4 billion compared to a historical total cost of KES 3.6 billion.
