Centum tightens grip on Sidian with rights issue

Centum Investment and its subsidiary Bakki Holdico Ltd have raised their combined stake in Sidian Bank to 83.41 per cent through a rights issue.

Sidian Bank disclosed in its latest annual report that only Centum and Bakki—a wholly-owned subsidiary of Centum—participated in the rights issue that was seeking to raise Sh500 million additional capital.

The lender says Bakki and Centum were each allotted an additional 282,790 and 16,726 shares respectively, sending their combined stake in the bank to 83.41 per cent at the end of December 2021. Bakki added Sh141.4 million to send its stake to 81.16 per cent, valued at Sh1.78 billion, while that of Centum rose from 2.01 per cent to 2.25 per cent to close the year at a value of Sh49.5 million.

Each of Sidian’s shares is valued at Sh500, meaning Centum’s stake in the tier III lender is Sh1.83 billion, having diluted the rest of the shareholders who did not take up the rights issue.

The bank shareholders at the Annual General Meeting held mid-July last year approved a rights issue to raise additional capital of Sh500 million from existing shareholders.“Two shareholders, Bakki Holdco and Centum Investment confirmed they will take up their rights,” says Sidian in the latest annual report.

The Centum subsidiary also acquired all the 8,254 shares of the late ambassador Bethuel Kiplagat in Sidian Bank in 2019, raising its stake from 79.99 per cent.

The transaction means that Centum now has an effective shareholding of 83.41 per cent in Sidian, up from 82.2 per cent in 2020.