Wanjui sues Unilever to block NSE tea agency sale

Billionaire businessman Joe Wanjui. PHOTO | SALATON NJAU | NMG

Billionaire businessman Joe Wanjui has filed a lawsuit in search of to dam British multinational Unilever from promoting its 52 % stake in Limuru Tea to a personal fairness fund as a part of a Sh596.7 billion ($5.1 billion) world deal.

The tycoon, who owns a 25.48 % stake within the Nairobi bourse-listed agency, desires the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) to dam the Kenyan ingredient of the worldwide deal, arguing that minority shareholders weren’t provided an opportunity to take part.

In a criticism filed on the Excessive Court docket, Mr Wanjui, 85, along with one other minority investor — Wainaina Kenyanjui — accuse Unilever of rejecting their provide to purchase the 52 % stake and as an alternative offered the shares to non-public fairness fund CVC Capital Companions.

The court docket struggle appears set to supply a peep into Limuru Tea’s jealously guarded boardroom secrets and techniques and Mr Wanjui’s possession, which for many years has remained masked beneath Customary Chartered nominee account 9532.

It is going to additionally see the tycoon tackle his former employer, having joined East African Industries (EAI) — now generally known as Unilever East Africa — as technical director in1968 and rose by means of the ranks to grow to be the managing director and finally govt chairman earlier than retiring in April 1996.

Mr Wanjui and Mr Kenyanjui reckon the pursuits of CVC Capital Companions aren’t aligned to these of Limuru Tea and accuse Unilever of constructing partial disclosures to the CMA within the phased restructuring of the multinational’s tea enterprise, which culminated within the sale.

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Unilever stated in November it had agreed to promote its world tea enterprise to CVC Capital Companions for Sh596.7 billion ($5.1 billion), concluding a means of reviewing and spinning off the division that took greater than two years.

Within the two years, Unilever transferred its 52 % stake in Limuru Tea to an affiliate throughout the multinational in a world plan for a devoted tea enterprise and ready plans to record the unit individually on a inventory change or outright sale.

The Kenyan shareholders say the structuring of the deal denied them a chance to make a counter provide for the 52 % stake valued at Sh443 million on the Nairobi Securities Alternate (NSE).

“The shareholders had been denied a chance to grasp and take part within the proposed transaction which might end in a completely new entity holding the useful curiosity in Limuru Tea,” court docket papers learn.

The deal will see the particular goal automobile registered within the Netherlands, Puccini Bidco B.V, take up the 52 % stake in Limuru Tea, an outgrower to Unilever Tea Kenya Restricted.

The tea firm has been within the crimson over the previous two years, reserving a internet lack of Sh9.5 million in 2021, worse than the Sh3.6 million registered in 2020.

The enterprise being offered, known as Ekaterra, hosts a portfolio of 34 tea manufacturers, together with Lipton, PG Ideas, Pukka Herbs and TAZO and generated revenues of two billion euros (Sh250 billion) in 2020.

Unilever will, nonetheless, retain its India and Indonesia tea operations in addition to its bottled tea three way partnership with PepsiCo.

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The sale relieves Unilever of a enterprise that has been a drag on earnings for a number of years as demand for black tea waned and client tastes modified.

Unilever’s CEO Alan Jope has been beneath stress to show across the agency as its inventory languishes and it struggles to compete within the face of excessive inflationary prices, particularly in rising markets which might be its greatest income.

Jope’s plan is to deal with larger development areas similar to plant-based meals, diet and premium magnificence to spice up gross sales development.

Kenya is the world’s greatest exporter of black tea. World gross sales have slowly slipped as shoppers shift to natural drinks.

Mr Wanjui says Unilever first structured the deal as a switch of shares between associated events, arguing the dad or mum firm knew it might finally promote the tea enterprise to non-public fairness funds, however didn’t disclose the share sale info to the CMA or different shareholders.

The 2 native shareholders have requested the court docket to stop the CMA from approving the acquisition and individually petitioned the regulator to probe the transaction and claims of impropriety in Limuru Tea.

They are saying Unilever has undue affect on the board of Limuru tea in breach of CMA company governance guidelines that require a 3rd of board members to be unbiased administrators.

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The principles purpose at lowering the affect of principal shareholders within the boardrooms in addition to safeguard the pursuits of minority traders.

Mr Wanjui says six of eight board members of Limuru Tea are both present workers, former staff and previous board members of Unilever.

The minority house owners declare Unilever sells inputs like fertiliser and labour to Limuru Tea at exorbitant costs and is the one purchaser of the corporate’s tea leaves at a value that’s typically decrease than these provided on the Mombasa public sale.

Unilever additionally delays funds of greater than Sh100 million yearly owed to Limuru Tea, typically for over 15 months, successfully granting itself interest-free loans with an indefinite settlement interval, say the 2 shareholders.

The Enterprise Each day was unable to get Unilever’s response to the swimsuit.

Mr Wanjui, who ranks among the many greatest native traders, is among the pioneer Kenyan decision-makers who’ve influenced the route of each enterprise and politics since Independence.

The businessman began earning profits buying and selling meals coupons close to Nairobi’s Khoja Mosque within the Nineteen Forties when he was 11 years and right this moment has pursuits unfold in hospitality, insurance coverage, actual property, fairness, agribusiness and horticulture.

He later credited his success to receiving an American schooling and a profitable profession that noticed him rise to govt positions at Unilever East Africa and Industrial and Industrial Improvement Company (ICDC).

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The State-owned ICDC helped create a lot of the post-Independence billionaires by funding their ventures in pursuit of the coverage of Kenyanisation of the economic system.

“Fairly a little bit of it was luck, however much more got here by means of very exhausting work. Even the place luck and circumstance play a task, as they do in any state of affairs, each likelihood they supply should be pursued and grabbed with each arms,” he writes in his guide My Native Roots.

“I took benefit of the various breaks that got here my means. These I missed, I lived to remorse. All of us get such breaks –however some individuals don’t recognise them.”

Mr Wanjui was one of the highly effective figures through the administration of Mwai Kibaki who appointed him as Chancellor of the College of Nairobi in 2003.

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