Zaad International deal acquried by South African firm.[Courtsey]
After years of a gloomy show in Kenya, South African firms appear to be getting a sound footing with the country's biggest banks and telecom investors' recent multi-billion-shilling acquisition deals.Three South African corporate giants have announced more than Sh400 billion in acquisitions and stake increases in Kenya over seven months, marking one of the biggest waves of South African investment in Kenyan blue-chip companies in recent years.This development follows Nedbank's acquisition of NCBA, Absa Group's plans to raise its ownership of Absa Bank Kenya, and Vodafone's increase in its stake in Safaricom.Other acquisitions by South African firms include the Zaad International deal, which recently announced that it is increasing its stake in East African Seed Company from 40 per cent to 100 per cent.Zaad initially acquired a 40 per cent stake in EA Seed Company in 2019. In more recent developments, Zaad was acquired by a consortium led by private equity firm Phatisa and South Africa's Government Employees Pension Fund.
The new owners injected fresh capital into the firm, a portion of which was used to fund the acquisition of EA Seed’s remaining 60 per cent stake, as per disclosures to the East African Community Competition Authority (EACA) where the companies have sought regulatory clearance.
