KENYA – leather accessories retail chain Nairobi Business Ventures (NBV) has announced plans to acquire four businesses in Kenya at a combined cost of Kshs3 billion (US$27.8 million).

According to a public statement, NBV intends to purchase 100% ownership in Delta Automobile, a leading heavy commercial vehicle maintenance company in Kenya; 100% ownership in Air Direct, an aviation company set to begin operating in Kenya soon; 100% ownership in Aviation Management Solution Limited, a company that owns a hangar and a building close to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport; and an 11.33 hectares parcel of land in Machakos County to be used to set up a cement manufacturing facility.

NBV has appointed ABC Capital as the transaction advisor for the deal and MW & Company advocates as the legal advisor.

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) – listed company was suspended from trading on the exchange in October 2020 and later reinstated in November the same year November “to allow for the completion of the company’s restructuring exercise which included a share split, allotment, and issuance of shares to Delta international FZE and subscription agreement between NBV and Delta.

It was later successful bought out by Dubai-based Delta International FZE at a cost of Kshs83 million (US$768,518) .

According to the NSE, the listed company successfully listed an additional 415 million shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange at that time, thereby finalizing its restructuring process and subsequently onboarding a new investor, Delta International (FZE).

At the time of the buyout, NBV’s new owner revealed plans to venture into cement production, a major shift from the firm’s core business of selling shoes.

Nairobi Business Ventures joined the Nairobi Securities Exchange in June 2016 under the Growth Enterprise Market Segment(GEMS) and at the time, NBV ran the K-Shoe brand, a retailer that imported leather shoes and accessories from China and India and sold them in Kenya.

In its latest financial report, Nairobi Business Ventures recorded a net profit of Kshs70,000 (US$648) for the half-year period that ended on 30th September 2020, a big improvement from the Kshs28.3 million (US$262,037) net loss posted in the same period a year earlier, according to the un-audited financial report.

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