BAKHL powers are to be clipped at a general meeting to be held on March 24.
Mr Rawat, whose 23.3 per cent stake was seized by the government of Mauritius, had the final say on the appointment of the company’s chief executive and chief financial officer.
Mr Munga last year bought BAKHL’s interest in the insurer and the termination of the investment vehicle’s veto powers is expected to be concluded at the upcoming meeting.
Insurance group Britam has for the second time moved to delete from its articles of association veto powers held by its former director and principal shareholder Dawood Rawat.
Mr Rawat, whose 23.3 per cent stake in Britam was seized by the government of Mauritius and sold to the insurance firm’s director, Peter Munga, had the final say on the appointment of the company’s chief executive and chief financial officer.
These powers were bestowed on Mr Rawat’s investment vehicle British-American Kenya Holdings (BAKHL) and were inherited by Mauritius, which seized the tycoon’s global assets to compensate victims of his multi-billion-shilling Ponzi scheme in the island nation.
BAKHL powers are to be clipped at a general meeting to be held on March 24 where the admission of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) as a shareholder with a 10.3 per cent stake is also to be ratified.
Part of Britam’s special business at the meeting will be the deletion of parts of Article 104 which reads: “… but no resolution of the company in general meeting shall invalidate any prior act of the directors which would have been valid if such resolution had not been passed if any director appointed by BAKHL pursuant to Article 92 (b) or his alternate votes against it: (a) the appointment of the managing director/chief executive officer or (b) the appointment of the financial director/chief financial officer.”
If passed, the resolution will basically eliminate BAKHL’s veto on the appointment of individuals to the two roles.
This is the second time Britam has moved to terminate the special powers which BAKHL got as a founder and single-largest shareholder in the company.
The Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firm published variations of the special resolution in its agenda for the June 26, 2015 AGM and later expunged them. Retraction of the resolution has been linked to legal uncertainty at the time when the Government of Mauritius had seized the assets of Mr Rawat, who in turn vowed to defend his interests, including at Britam.
Mr Munga last year bought BAKHL’s interest in the insurer and the termination of the investment vehicle’s veto powers is expected to be concluded at the upcoming meeting. Acquisition of the shares lifted the billionaire’s stake from the previous 23.3 per cent to 40.2 per cent, making him the most influential shareholder and director of the firm.
The entry of IFC, which is buying 224.1 million Britam shares at Sh15.85 per share, will dilute existing shareholders by 10.3 per cent.
Mr Munga’s stake, for instance, will drop to 36 per cent. The businessman said he would sell the 452.5 million shares he bought from BAKHL by July next year, cutting his interest in the insurer.
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