Billionaire Baloobhai Patel purchased millions of Bamburi Cement shares ahead of the proposed buyout by Tanzanian business Amsons Group.
According to Business Daily, he acquired Bamburi shares through his holding business, Aksaya Investment Holdings.
Patel’s interest in Bamburi as of December 2023 was Ksh 14.96 million or 4.12 percent.
At the time, his shareholding was worth Ksh 35.85 million, based on a market price of Ksh 536.2 million.
However, in June 2024, Patel boosted his interest in the cement business to Ksh 30.52 million shares, or 8.41 percent.
At the closing of trade on Monday, July 15, when Bamburi shares were trading at Ksh 60.25, this investment was worth Ksh 1.83 billion.
As earlier reported on WoK, Amsons Group, a Tanzanian manufacturing and energy company, is set to acquire up to a 100% stake in Kenya’s Bamburi Cement for $180 million, approximately Ksh 23.2 billion.
The company, through its Kenyan subsidiary Amsons Industries Limited, has offered a public buyout offer of Ksh 65 per share, valued at almost Ksh 23.2 billion.
According to the Tanzanian company, this acquisition will strengthen Amsons’ footprint in the East African cement business and is a key step toward regional economic development and market integration.
Amsons Group, founded in 2006, has expanded its operations beyond bulk oil and petroleum products, now producing 6,000MT/day cement.
The business also runs a 500MT/day wheat flour milling plant, a cutting-edge concrete plant, and large logistics and petroleum operations in numerous African countries.
The group’s latest acquisitions include the Mbeya Cement factory in Tanzania, which it purchased from Holcim to boost its cement manufacturing capacity.