Billionaire buys Britam stake as share hits record
Britam building situated at Upper Hill in Nairobi. FILE
What you need to know:
Regulatory filings show that Mr Patel was in November ranked Britam’s seventh-largest individual shareholder with shares worth Sh46.5 million.
Analysts expect Mr Patel to grow the Britam stake in line with his strategy of share accumulation for the long-term.
Britam’s share price has gained 91.6 per cent over the past three months to trade at Sh19.4 — the highest level since its listing in July 2011 at Sh9.
Billionaire investor Baloobhai Patel has bought into investment firm Britam as increased interest on the counter pushed its share price to a record level.
Regulatory filings show that Mr Patel was in November ranked Britam’s seventh-largest individual shareholder with shares worth Sh46.5 million, making an entry on the firm’s top owners’ record.
While the ownership pales in comparison to stakes worth more than a billion shillings he owns each in Pan Africa Insurance and Bamburi Cement, analysts expect Mr Patel to grow the Britam stake in line with his strategy of share accumulation for the long-term.
Britam’s share price has gained 91.6 per cent over the past three months to trade at Sh19.4 — the highest level since its listing in July 2011 at Sh9.
The rally has generated major capital gains for long-term investors in the investment firm like businessman Peter Munga, Dawood Rawat, investment banker Jimnah Mbaru and Equity Bank CEO, James Mwangi.
Mr Munga has gained Sh3 billion over the past three months to Sh6.3 billion with Mr Rawat growing his wealth in the firm from Sh3.8 billion to Sh7.4 billion in the same period.
Mr Mbaru and Mr Mwangi have gained Sh2 billion and Sh697 million respectively in the three months.
The capital gains are linked to Britam’s increased activity in the deal-making scene. The firm is set to acquire rival Real Insurance in a cash-and-stock deal valued at Sh1.3 billion after November’s purchase of a 25 per cent in Acorn Group, a real-estate developer.
Britam is also seeking a bigger piece of the booming regional property market with the Acorn deal and its establishment of a Sh10 billion property fund.
The investment firm’s net profit in the first half ended June 2013 rose 28.7 per cent to Sh2.1 billion.
Mr Patel’s Britam stocks adds to his portfolio at the Nairobi Securities Exchange that is estimated to be worth more than Sh4 billion.
He owns a 19.9 per cent stake in Pan Africa Insurance worth Sh1.9 billion and 1.3 per cent stake in Bamburi valued at Sh1 billion.
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