This archive report was first published on 16 November 2019.
Kenya Airways, the country's national carrier, has been struggling financially, with its shares plummeting 81% in value.
According to Transport Principal Secretary Esther Koimett, the government will purchase shares held by Air France-KLM, local commercial banks, and over 80,000 individuals.
As of 2019, the airline was 48.9% State-owned, 38.1% owned by lenders, 7.8% owned by Air France-KLM, 2.4% owned by Kenya Airways employees, and 2.8% owned by individual investors.
"You have to ensure that everybody gets their dues. That is why you have to do a valuation. Once you know how much it will cost you and have the process under the law… it is a matter of getting the shareholders themselves to pass the necessary resolutions to facilitate the payouts within the law," PS Koimett told Parliament on November 16, 2019.
The buyout is expected to pave the way for the delisting of Kenya Airways from the Nairobi Stocks Exchange (NSE), where it was listed in 1996.
Kenya Airways Chairman Michael Joseph warned of financial duress for the airline if the buyout deal and nationalization plan are not concluded within the next six months.
"We need a decision because in the next six months we run the danger of considering alternative measures that are not pleasant," Joseph told MPs.
