IBL Group, a Mauritian conglomerate, has acquired a 30% stake in Naivas Supermarket, increasing the influence of Southern Island investors in Kenya’s retail sector.
The Private Equity firm has purchased the stake held by the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and a French private fund.
Although the retail chain did not disclose the transactional value, the previous shareholders purchased the stake for Sh6 billion two years ago.
According to the statement, it was the largest investment IBL has ever made in the last two centuries. The investment firm has been around since 1860. In addition, IBL has assembled a group of institutional investors to purchase the IFC consortium.
“I want to take this opportunity to introduce the IBL Group whom we are in advanced discussion, pending regulatory approval to join Naivas International as shareholders,’’ the firm managing director David Kimani said in a statement on Friday.
He went on to say that the new development would pose no operational challenges to the retail chain.
According to Naivas, the transaction will not include any new capital injection into the retailer.
The late businessman Peter Mukuha Kago, who founded the company, will retain a controlling stake in the supermarket.
