Uchumi bets on Sh1.2bn State funds to stabilise, suspends search for investor

Uchumi Supermarkets has suspended indefinitely plans to raise Sh5 billion from a strategic investor, betting on the proposed injection of Sh1.2 billion from the government to continue operating.

Chief executive Julius Kipng’etich said the company’s negative net worth made it difficult to get a deep-pocketed investor whose entry would have also caused a major dilution of existing shareholders.