Mauritian conglomerate IBL Group expects to complete its acquisition of a stake in Nairobi-based pharmaceuticals distributor Harley’s by the end of this month.
IBL first disclosed the deal at the beginning of the year, adding that it would partner with French sovereign wealth fund Proparco in the investment.
The Stock Exchange of Mauritius-listed IBL has since June 2022 intensified its investing activity in Kenya and the East African region, taking stakes in companies such as Naivas Supermarkets, Equator Energy and Harley’s.
The conglomerate established an office in Nairobi in 2018 to lead its search for buyout opportunities as part of its strategy to expand in East Africa.
“We have reached the final administrative steps in this (Harley’s) transaction and are expecting to close before the end of October 2023,” said IBL in a presentation to analysts on its financial results for the year to June 2023.
Harley’s has operated in Kenya since 1953, having started as a retail chemist before transforming into a medical and pharmaceutical importer-distributor. The company was acquired by its current management in 1975.
The company has since expanded its footprint into Uganda and Tanzania, with offices and stock points in Nairobi, Mombasa, Eldoret, Dar es Salaam and Kampala that serve more than 5,000 outlets.
Its products include drugs, hospital beds, intravenous poles, bedside cabinets, examination beds, delivery beds and stainless steel buckets, sourced from more than 400 global suppliers, including pharmaceutical firms Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck and Roche.
IBL’s biggest exposure in East Africa is in Kenya, where it operates or has stakes in Naivas, Transmara Sugar (held under Miwa Sugar Limited), solar operator Equator Energy and financial firm DTOS.
In the retail sector, it is part of a consortium that holds a 51 percent stake in Naivas, Kenya’s largest supermarket chain by the number of outlets.
In June 2022, IBL, Proparco and German fund DEG through their investment vehicle Mambo Retail acquired a 40 percent stake in Naivas for $151.97 million (Sh22.6 billion at current exchange rates).
