- The CMA had put Limuru Tea under intense scrutiny after its minority shareholders filed a court petition seeking the regulator not to approve the transfer of equity owned by Unilever to UK’s Tea Co.
The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) of Kenya has blocked the transfer of Unilever’s majority stake in Limuru Tea Plc. The CMA had put Limuru Tea under intense scrutiny after its minority shareholders filed a court petition seeking the regulator not to approve the transfer of equity owned by Unilever to UK’s Tea Co.
Ekaterra Tea Kenya Plc (Unilever Tea) had presented a proposal to shareholders of Limuru Tea Plc to acquire up to 100% of the ordinary shares in the share capital of the company that is not already owned by ekaterra Kenya.
The petitioner accused the firm of undervaluing Unilever’s land holding at KSh1 million against an estimated value of Sh23 million per acre. There are other allegations such as Limuru Tea understating its revenues, delaying the collection of tea sales from Unilever, and overcharging the Kenyan tea firms for services.
Last year in November, Unilever announced that it had agreed to sell its global tea business to CVC Capital Partners for US $5.1 billion. The deal covered the sale of a 52 percent stake through a special purpose vehicle registered in the Netherlands, Puccini Bidco B.V, owned by CVC Capital taking up the shares in Limuru Tea.
Also read;
https://trendsnafrica.com/covid-19-changes-the-matrix-of-kenyas-tea-exports/
https://trendsnafrica.com/covid-19-changes-the-matrix-of-kenyas-tea-exports/
