CEO buyout bid for Express Kenya flops

Express Kenya shareholders have declined to sell their stake to the chief executive, Hector Diniz. This means the firm will remain listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Less than 10 per cent of shareholders in the transport and logistics firm agreed to the buyout, which was far from the required 75 per cent threshold.

Despite holding significant shares in person and through his company Etcoville (61.64 per cent), Mr Diniz could not walk away with the company that holds prime property along Likoni Road.

He had sought to buy out 38.3 per cent ordinary shares that were not held by his affiliated companies but ended up only getting 9.78 per cent approved.

"Although the offer was not successful, Diniz Holdings would like to thank all Express Kenya shareholders who supported the offer. Following the above outcome, the company will not be delisted from the Nairobi Securities Exchange,” the firm said in a notice.

This comes at a time where American firm Seaboard Limited is also expected to announce the outcome of a bid to buy Unga Group on Friday.

Seaboard got a 10-day extension because of low uptake on the offer, with the company blaming it on a mix-up of physical and postal addresses.

Victus Limited, which owns 38.5 million shares - 50.93 per cent of the miller - is supporting the deal.

Express Kenya's takeover bid ate up half of its year, subsequent to being in the red for the past three years where it posted consecutive losses.

The company ran into headwinds after it lost its main logistics business with East Africa Breweries four years ago, forcing it to lease out its fleet and equipment.

To sustain itself, Express Kenya made a go at setting up a real estate business on its 16 acres of prime property but despite breaking ground to put up 224 residential houses on 3.5 acres, the Sh2 billion venture has failed to take off.

In its 2015 annual report, the company admitted that it had been hit by roadblocks.

"There have been twists and turns which have led to massive delays in implementation as well as a delay in the turnaround time for the company’s cash flow," Diniz said.