The government of President William Ruto has declared that it will sell telecommunications firm to a Dubai company known as Infrastructure Corporation of Africa (ICA).
Since this declaration, shocking details about this alleged buyer have emerged. Apparently, unlike other multi-national corporations, this company did not have any online presence until one month ago when its website was set up.
The sale that will involve a 60 per cent share swap will also be the first investment that this company will be making in Africa. This is despite carrying the ‘Africa’ tag on its brand.
Although the National Treasury has claimed that ICA was picked as the rightful buyer following a competitive bidding, details on when and how this bidding was done have remained scanty, further casting mystery on the company and how it won the bid.
“A competitive process to identify the new investor was set in motion in January 2023, resulting in an evaluation process that recommended the Infrastructure Corporation of Africa LLC (ICA) of the United Arab Emirates, to be the new majority shareholder in Telkom, based on the offer they put forward,” a statement from the National Treasury had stated.
The National Treasury did not also reveal the number of companies that had taken part in the bidding process and whether the Sh. 6 billion sale deal between the government and Helios had been fully concluded at the time the government rescinded its decision to buyout Helios.
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In this deal, the National Treasury had announced that Helios Investments which received Sh. 6 billion from the Treasury in 2022 will be asked to refund the payment of Sh. 6.09 billion and then directly sell its 60 per cent stake to the UAE firm.
“Government of Kenya (GoK) will work with Jamhuri/Helios to transfer their 60 per cent shareholding directly to ICA. This process will inevitably require rescinding of the transaction documents already signed between GoK and Jamhuri/Helios, among other necessary actions,” National Treasury cabinet secretary Professor Njuguna Ndung’u said.
However, it is not clear what amount Helios will actually refund and how this will be made to happen.
The National Treasury withdrew Sh. 6.09 billion on August 5, 2022 and paid Jamhuri Holdings Ltd, a Mauritius-based subsidiary of Helios, in a transaction that did not get parliamentary approval.
