Businessman Benson Ndeta is set to take controlling stake of Savannah Cement after he gained regulatory approval for a deal that would increase his interest in the company by 29.4%. In a press release, the Competition Authority of Kenya said it had unconditionally approved Ndeta’s acquisition of Savannah Cement.
The agency declined to reveal details about the transaction. Savannah Cement currently has two shareholders — Seruji with a 60% stake and Savannah Heights with a 40%. Ndeta owns 51% of Seruji and 35% of Savannah Heights. Sources said that following the transaction, Mr Ndeta will own 100% of Seruji. Given his present holdings in Savannah Heights, this raises his effective stake in Savannah Cement to 74% from 44.6%.
Ndeta said: “The restructuring at the shareholder level will not see any changes at the management of the company nor its strategy.” This latest transaction follows a 2015 deal in which Seruji bought out Chinese firms Wan Ho International and Acme Wanji who had collectively owned 60% of Savannah. Standard Investment Bank (SIB) estimates that Savannah Cement had a 15% market share in Kenya last year, the fourth largest after market leader Bamburi (32.6% market share), Mombasa Cement (15.8%) and East African Portland Cement (15.1%). Savannah last year said it was planning to increase its annual production capacity to 2.4 million tonnes by mid-2018.
