Billionaire entrepreneur and investor Chris Kirubi has bought 2.1 million Kenya Airways shares. The move by Mr. Kirubi comes a few weeks after he urged on Kenyans to invest in Kenya Airways as a way of salvaging the airline.
According to records, Mr. Kirubi acquired the shares in August shortly after Kenya Airways announced that it had sunk into a massive loss of Sh. 25 billion.
During the announcement of KQ’s full year results, Mr. Kirubi was reported to have suggested taking Kenya Airways off the stock market as a strategy aimed at redeeming it.
The billionaire has positioned himself as one of the key drivers of the local securities market, with huge chunks of stakes in profit-making entities such as Centum. It remains to be seen how his new investment will augur in the market at a time when bad news continue to stream out of KQ.
The national carrier is currently struggling to justify why it is overpriced in comparison with other regional and international carriers. Reports issued last week indicated that KQ has been charging nearly double prices what other airlines charge to fly to key routes.