Kenya’s ambassador to the United Nations Habitat Sam Ongeri. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Latest regulatory filings show that Prof Ongeri, who was ranked Longhorn’s second largest individual shareholder, could have sold some of his 0.9 million shares equivalent to a 1.65 per cent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed publisher, currently worth Sh20.7 million.
The stock transfer by Prof Ongeri comes at a time when the long-serving politician and former minister for Foreign Affairs is locked in a court case with National Bank over a Sh25 million loan default.
Newly appointed ambassador to the UN Habitat Sam Ongeri has offloaded his shares in Longhorn Publishers, joining a list of the company’s founders who have traded their holdings in the company.
Latest regulatory filings show that Prof Ongeri, who was ranked Longhorn’s second largest individual shareholder, could have sold some of his 0.9 million shares equivalent to a 1.65 per cent stake in the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed publisher, currently worth Sh20.7 million.
The stock transfer by Prof Ongeri comes at a time when the long-serving politician and former minister for Foreign Affairs is locked in a court case with National Bank over a Sh25 million loan default.
Stock sales by directors, top shareholders and senior executives of listed firms are closely monitored by investors as a possible indicator of a company’s future prospects given that the managers have deep insight into the financial position of the organisations they lead.
Such sales could also be an indication of senior executives’ belief that their stocks could have hit their peak. It is, however, not clear whether Prof Ongeri sold all or just part of his shares, or whether he could have transferred them to another investment vehicle.
Prof Ongeri, 76, was two weeks ago appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta as ambassador to the UN Habitat.
Longhorn research and business development manager David Omuruli, who previously held 870,000 shares worth Sh18.7 million, has also cut his stake in the company and is also missing in the list of top 10 shareholders.
Businesswoman Margaret Mutiso also reduced her holding in the publisher, with her stake dropping to 1.32 per cent from 1.37 per cent in the March last year; after transferring 30,000 shares currently worth Sh645,000. Janet Njoroge, who served as Longhorn managing director till December 2012, has kept her shareholding at 1.11 per cent, despite the expiry of a two-year lock-in period.
Prof Norah Khadzini Olembo, a university don and executive director of African Biotechnology Stakeholders Forum, has for the first time appeared in Longhorn’s top shareholders list at position 10 with 495,480 shares presently worth Sh10.6 million.
Longhorn founders and key shareholders, including the former chief executive and Mr Omuruli, had their stakes locked-in for a two-year period after the firm listed on the NSE in May 2012 at an introductory price of Sh14 per share. The stock has since rallied to close at Sh21.50 on Friday after Longhorn more than doubled dividend pay to Sh2 per share for the year to June from Sh0.80 paid in 2013 and declared a bonus.
Longhorn posted a one per cent rise in net profit to June of Sh94.9 million from Sh93.9 million last year. Book sales jumped by more than a third to Sh1.3 billion from Sh1.03 billion a year earlier helped by exports to Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, and increased sales in the local market.
Prof Ongeri’s exit from Longhorn could see the former legislator miss out on a total of Sh2 dividend per share as well as a bonus issue in the ratio of three new shares for every two shares held.
This means Prof Ongeri would have earned a total dividend pay of Sh1.9 million from his stake and receive a further 1.4 million new shares in bonuses. Listed investment firm Centum is the biggest shareholder of Longhorn with a 34.9 per cent stake or 20.4 million shares.
Francis Nyammo, the proprietor and chancellor of International University of Professional Studies, is the second biggest owner at the publishing firm with a 34.89 per cent shareholding held directly and through his investment vehicle Pacific Futures and Options Limited.
