A group of flour mill tycoons and associates of the makers of Super Loaf bread have acquired bankrupt Savannah Cement for Sh3.8 billion, ending a two-year search for suitors after KCB and Absa Bank placed the firm under receivership due to a Sh14.1 billion debt.
The wealthy investors linked to Mombasa Maize Millers, Kitui Flour Millers, and Eldoret Grains Limited closed the deal through a newly registered company, Savannah Cement 2025 Limited, according to documents tabled in Parliament.
The cement maker was placed under administration by KCB Bank Kenya and Absa Bank in May 2023 over debts of Sh8.89 billion and Sh5.23 billion, respectively.
The sale of Savannah Cement had attracted over a dozen local and international suitors. Billionaires increasingly get attracted to Kenya’s cement market, which is riding on increased real estate activities.
A transaction adviser who worked on the deal and sought anonymity reckons that the tycoons paid Sh3.8 billion for the ailing firm.
Competition Authority of Kenya Director-General David Kemei told the National Assembly’s Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Committee that the sale was approved unconditionally on Monday to help ensure the survival of the troubled company.
“Under the proposed transaction, the acquirer will acquire the target’s business and assets, thereby preventing their exit and ensuring their continued productivity and preservation,” Mr Kemei told MPs yesterday, without disclosing the value of the deal.
“It is anticipated that salvaging the target’s business will potentially create additional employment opportunities. Therefore, the transaction was approved without conditions on August 25, 2025, since it was unlikely to lead to a substantial prevention or lessening of competition and no negative public interest concerns were envisaged.”
Savannah Cement 2025 Limited is owned equally by three investment vehicles -- SMA Investments, Montgate Holdings and Mo Ali Kenya -- according to shareholder and directors’ records at the registrar of companies.
The three companies are linked to the bakers of Super Loaf bread, Dola Maize Meal and Taifa Maize Meal.
The foray of the tycoons into Kenya’s cement industry intensifies the battle for control of the billions in annual sales generated from a sector that is a key beneficiary of the construction boom.
Montgate Holdings is fully owned by Hafeez Amin Manji, one of the directors of Mini Bakeries, which manufactures Supa Loaf bread. SMA Investments is owned by Muhammed Salim Taib, Said Salim and Abubakar Salim Ahmed. These individuals own Kitui Flour Millers, Rafiki Millers, and Eldoret Grains. They also own Busia Sugar Industries, which recently acquired South Nyanza Sugar Company.
The shareholders of Mo Ali are Ali Yishma and Mohammed Islam, who also own Mombasa Maize Millers.
The entry of the flour tycoons into the cement industry adds to the recent forays by billionaires, including the acquisition of Bamburi Cement by wealthy Tanzanian Edha Abdallah Munif of Amsons Group of Tanzania.
Mr Munif has also launched a bid to purchase an extra 29.2 percent stake in East Africa Portland Cement (EAPC) in what will see him emerge as the single-largest shareholder of the Athi River-based company with a 41.75 percent stake.
At the end of the deal, Mr Munif will directly and indirectly control the equivalent of 31 percent of the Kenyan cement sector’s production capacity, setting the stage for a billionaire’s fight for the industry.
The billionaire Rai family, through Sarbjit Singh Rai, controls Rai Cement located at the border of Kisumu and Kericho counties.
Narendra Raval, popularly known as Guru due to his priestly background, is also a dominant player in Kenya’s cement market through his three firms-- National Cement, Athi River Mining (ARM) and Cemtech.
KCB and Absa Bank appointed Peter Kahi, a partner at audit firm PKF Kenya, as the administrator and he shepherded the sale of Savannah Cement.
Absa had unsuccessfully placed the company under administration in November 2022 after the move was suspended by the courts. Savannah Cement’s woes, which have been attributed to mismanagement and fraudulent practices, saw its revenues decline significantly while its liabilities ballooned to unsustainable levels.
The growing debt and a lack of working capital severely impacted operations, leading to production stoppages.
The company reported a net loss of Sh2.5 billion in 2022, with its debts hitting a high of Sh18 billion by the time it was placed under administration a year later.
Savannah Cement’s industrial property is the largest asset, valued at Sh10.1 billion, followed by a 2.5-acre piece of land in Kitengela, last valued at Sh750 million.
KCB Bank Kenya was owed Sh8.89 billion, while Absa Kenya had a Sh5.23 billion exposure in the cement manufacturing firm. The two lenders were preferential creditors, meaning that their claims were to be given priority.
Bidders are required to demonstrate technical and financial capacities to upgrade and manage Savannah Cement.
The Kenyan cement market in 2025 is expected to see increased production capacity due to planned clinker capacity additions by companies like Simba Cement and Portland Cement, potentially lowering production costs.
Data from the CAK showed that Mombasa Cement was the market leader with a market share of 33 percent, ahead of National Cement (Simba Cement) at 26 percent.
Bamburi is third with a market share of 22 percent, followed by East African Portland Cement at 10 percent, then Rai Cement at 5.0 percent, and Savannah Cement ties with Ndovu Cement at sixth, each with a market share of 1.5 percent. Other players control the remaining 1.0 percent.
Benson Ndeta, an architect, once held majority control of Savannah Cement, which he acquired in 2019 through his investment vehicle, Seruji Ltd.
