Centum Investment Company has announced that it has sold its 100% stake in their subsidiary, King Beverages Limited, to Danish Brewing Company E.A. Limited. The price of the transaction has not been disclosed but according to Centum, King Beverages has a carrying value of Ksh. 471 million.
Danish Brewing Company is a private company registered in Kenya and it is a subsidiary of Bounty Global Management DWC LLC.
King Beverages distributes various alcoholic drinks in Kenya and the region. The company was established in 2014 with a franchise to exclusively distribute and market Carlsberg Premium Beer. The franchise was later extended to cover the whole of East Africa. The company is also the exclusive distributor of selected Edringto and Gray’s spirits in Kenya. The company’s full portfolio includes;
Edrington Products
- Laphroaig
- Courvoisier
- Jim Beam
- Teachers
- Sauza
- Makers Mark
- Larios
- Ardmore
- Auchenstoshan
- Bowmore
- Canadian Club
- Glenrothes
Carlsberg Products
- Carlsberg
- Tuborg
Grays Products
- KGB
- New Grove
Centum has been offloading investments in Kenyan companies in the recent past. It sold a 26.43% stake in Kenya Wines Agency Ltd (KWAL) to Distell in May 2019. While releasing its FY 2019 financial results, the company announced that it plans to sell its stake in Almasi Beverages Limited (ABL) and Nairobi Bottlers Limited (NBL) to Coca-Cola Sabco East Africa at a price of Ksh. 19.5 billion. Coca-Cola Sabco East Africa is a subsidiary of Coca-Cola Beverages Africa (CCBA). Centum owned 53.9% of ABL and 72.4% of NBL. In 2018, the company sold GenAfrica Asset Managers for Ksh. 1.2 billion.
The company announced this year that it has embarked on a new strategy dubbed Centum 4.0, that will run from April 2019 to March 2024. Through the strategy, the company will streamline operations into 3 distinct business units namely; Real Estate, Private Equity and Marketable Securities. The target asset allocations for the three are 30-35% Real Estate, 35-45% Private Equity and 20-30% Marketable Securities.