Orange completes the sale of Telkom Kenya to Helios Investment Partners

No photo availableCIO Africa authorByStaff Writer
2 min read

The Mauritius-registered company, Jamhuri Holdings Limited will now control 60 per cent stake while the Government of Kenya acquires an…

In accordance with an agreement signed in November 2015 between
In accordance with an agreement signed in November 2015 between Orange and Helios Investment Partners, and following the approval of the relevant authorities, Orange has finally completed the sale of the majority stake of 70 per cent of Telkom Kenya to Jamhuri Holdings Limited (JHL), a company owned by Helios Investors III, a fund advised by Helios Investment.

The Mauritius-registered company, Jamhuri Holdings Limited will now control 60 per cent stake while the Government of Kenya acquires an additional 10 per cent stake in Telkom Kenya, as hinted by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Finance and National Treasury, Henry Rotich as he presented the 2016/2017 budget.

This will see the Government increase its share in Telkom Kenya from 30 per cent to 40 percent for a symbolic Sh1 from the company’s new owners. The Government will as well take up about Sh12 billion owed to the French owners by Telkom Kenya, being 40 per cent of the Sh30 billion in shareholder loans, reported the Standard Digital.

“We will take up our share of the loans owed by the firm to the exiting shareholder,” Mr Rotich said after the conclusion of the sale announced at his office. He also added that the company will continue using the ‘Orange’ brand for at least 18 months, according to the agreement entered after intense negotiations.

Mr. Rotich also added that The Government had seen the positive impact of Helios investments in other sectors of the economy and expressed optimism that their investment in TKL will have a transformative impact on the operations and standing of the company.

“We wish Helios well and look forward to interacting further, as we seek to find ways on how best we can achieve our mutual objective of growing TKL into a sustainable and prosperous business.”

Telkom Kenya has been facing a number of challenges for a fairly long time, however with renewed focus and energy, Mr. Rotich believes that the new acquisition could turn around Telkom Kenya into a sustainable and able to compete effectively in the telecommunications sector.

“The last one year or so there has been an improvement in the performance of the company and many more Kenyans have become Orange subscribers. We expect the new investors to turn around the fortunes of the company so that it can be a sustainable business capable of competing effectively in the telecommunications sector,” added Mr. Rotich.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Do you have a story that you think would interest our readers? Write to us editorial@cioafrica.co