Kenyan tycoon John Kimani’s stake in listed agriculture firm takes a $3.2-million hit

Kenyan business tycoon, John Kimani, has reportedly lost $3.2 million on his investments in Kakuzi Plc. The company is one of Kenya’s leading agro-allied companies that trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange – it processes and sells avocados, blueberries, macadamia nuts, tea, cattle, and commercial forestry.

The drop since the beginning of the year was occasioned as the company’s shares plummeted by a double-digit percentage on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Billionaires Africa reported. Sources have however attributed the incident to the reduced exposure of foreign investors to Kenya,  which has resulted in a widespread sell-off of shares in several Kenyan companies.

Kimani has made a name for himself as one of Kenya’s leading investors. He is renowned in Kenyan business circles for acquiring large blocks of shares in local blue-chip companies and holding them for the long term, according to businesstoday.

Three years ago, he made $800,000 after selling off over 3 million shares of the listed oil marketing company to Total Kenya. Kimani reportedly sold his shares to raise money to acquire additional shares in Kakuzi PLC.

In 2020, Forbes reported that his shares in Kakuzi were valued at $20 million, however, Billionaires Africa now values the shares in the company at $15.92 million.  

Detailing the performance of his stake, Billionaires Africa noted that “Kimani’s stake in Kakuzi has decreased by $3.28 million since the beginning of the year, from $19.19 million on Jan. 1 to $15.92 million.” Despite his stake taking a hit, he remains one of the richest investors on the NSE. 

Aside from his shares in Kakuzi, Kimani is the largest shareholder in Kenya’s Nation Media Group, which is East Africa’s largest media conglomerate. He reportedly owns an estimated 1.8% of the listed firm, making him the single largest shareholder.

He also has stakes in brewery giant, East African Breweries Limited, and mobile telecom outfit, Safaricom.