Nairobi, 4th April 2017- Centum is pleased to announce the sale of its 26.43% stake in KWA Holding East Africa Limited (KWAL) to Distell International Holdings Limited a subsidiary of Distell Group Limited (Distell). Distell is the leading producer of spirits, wines, ciders and read-to-drinks in Africa. KWAL is one of the foremost manufacturers and distributors of spirits and wines in Kenya. KWAL sold more than 8 million litres of alcoholic beverages in 2016 and owns a portfolio of popular local brands such as Kibao, Kingfisher and Caprice.

The deal will see Distell own a majority shareholding in KWAL of 52.43% having previously purchased a 26% shareholding from Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC) in 2014.

Centum has been long invested in KWAL having acquired a 26.43% shareholding in 1977 and has worked together with other shareholders and management to grow the business of KWAL steadily over the last 40 years.

“The sale of our shareholding in KWAL is in line with Centum’s 5 year strategy, Centum 3.0, to give other investors access to quality investment grade opportunities” explained James Mworia, Managing Director, Centum Investment. He further explained that, “The proceeds from the sale will enable us to deploy capital into developing other investment opportunities in our pipeline across Real Estate, Agribusiness, Education and Healthcare sectors.” Other sectors that Centum is invested in include Financial Services, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Power.

James Mworia added, “Centum is proud to continue to support Kenya’s goals to attract Foreign Direct investment (FDI) into the country. In addition to the FDI we attracted with this sale to Distell, last year we were able to attract over US$60 million in the recently launched Two Rivers Mall, the largest retail centre in East and Central Africa. We expect to continue to attract further FDI through various projects such as the proposed integrated real estate development on 10,000 acres in Vipingo, Kilifi County and in Education, where Centum together with its foreign partners, SABIS® and Investbridge Capital broke ground on their first school in Sub-Saharan Africa located off Kiambu Road. These projects show the role local businesses can play in attracting Foreign Direct Investment and are a demonstration of investor confidence in the economy of the region and Kenya specifically.”

About Centum

Centum is a publicly listed company on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and cross-listed on the Uganda Securities Exchange. The company has over 36,000 shareholders and its vision is to be Africa’s foremost investment channel. As part of its 5-year Centum 3.0 strategy running from 2014-2019, Centum is contributing socially and economically to the prosperity of the country by investing in key sectors of the economy namely; Real Estate; Financial Services; Education; FMCG; Health Care; Agriculture & Power. As at 30 September 2016, Centum had total assets of Kes.560 million.