Former Kenya Revenue Authority chair Anthony Mwaura has acquired a stake in the HF Group with Sh1.6 billion. Mwaura made this acquisition through his nuclear family in a series of transactions that involved firms associated with himself, his wife and his daughter.
According to a report that appeared in a local business newspaper, Business Daily, on Monday, Anthony Mwaura bought 81.6 million shares through his firm Toddy Civil Engineering. These shares were equivalent to a 4.33 percent stake with an estimated market valuation of about Sh548.3 million.
His wife Rose Njeri on the other hand bought shares equivalent to a 4.21 percent stake worth Sh533.5 million while his daughter Susan Wanjiru owned a 4.18 percent stake worth Sh528 million. According to the report, Njeri acquired the shares through the firm Effort Merchants while Wanjiru owns the shares through Janton Investments. These acquisitions were made through the HF Group rights issue that were held in 2024.
In total, the Anthony Mwaura family now owns a 12.72 percent stake in the HF Group which is estimated to be worth around Sh1.6 billion. The family is now the second largest shareholder, second only to Britam Holdings which controls a 48.17 percent stake in the business.
Mwaura was quoted by the daily as saying that he invested heavily in the shares because of the potential held by the mortgage financier.
“I was interested in HF because it is a good indigenous bank with good potential. The investment is a retirement plan. We are almost retiring and have to plan for the future,” he told the daily.
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The top ten shareholders in the lender now control 73.32 percent after the rights issue, which is an increase from 58.31 percent in 2023. They include Wizpro Enterprises which holds 79,533,165 shares worth an estimated Sh534 million and Acini Invest which also holds an equal stake as Wizpro.
On the Nairobi Securities Exchange, the HF Group counter is currently trading at a range of around Sh6.70 per share with a 52-week low of Sh3.32 per share and a high of Sh9.74 per share.
