Companies owned by Chris Kirubi: The late Chris Kirubi was ranked as one of the top business moguls in Kenya. His business interests ranged from broadcasting to manufacturing.
Some of his prominent businesses included:
1). Centum Investments
He was the single-largest shareholder of the Nairobi Securities Exchange traded firm with a 28.64 per cent stake. He was also a non-executive directorship at Centum Investments. He served as chairman of Centum between 1998 and 2003. This business is also behind the Two Rivers Mall, the largest shopping mall in Sub-saharan Africa, outside South Africa. Centum Investment Company Plc is a private equity firm with investments in agriculture, real estate, education, healthcare, energy, beverages and financial services.
2). Haco
He was the chair of the board of Haco Tiger Brands where he had a 49 per cent stake. He raked in hundreds of millions after selling part of this business to French multinational Société BIC. Kirubi reportedly got a total compensation of nearly Sh. 2 billion from this deal.
He was the owner of broadcasting firm Capital Media Group which runs Capital FM and the Capital news website.
4). Nairobi Bottlers
He also headed the board of Nairobi Bottlers, a local franchisee of Coca-Cola, which accounts for 47 per cent of all beverage sales in Kenya. In 2019, his company, Centum announced that it had completed the sale of its shareholding in Almasi Beverages and Nairobi Bottlers to Coca-Cola Sabco East Africa. Centum held 53.9 per cent of the issued shares of Almasi Beverages and 27.6 per cent in Nairobi Bottlers. Coca-Cola Sabco East Africa paid Centum Sh. 19.4 billion.
5). Bayer East Africa
He owned 45 per cent of agrochemical firm Bayer East Africa, a firm that is set for a merger with the local subsidiary of Monsanto as part of a larger global transaction valued at Sh. 6.2 trillion. He had previously said that property was the foundation of his business empire.
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6). International House
He owned the International House in Nairobi’s central business district which is one of his most iconic investments.
In one particular instance, Kirubi narrated how he started off as a salesperson for an insurance company known as International House Limited before he later acquired its headquarters.
“With International House, I worked for (the insurance company that was headquartered there). I used to sell policies and when they decided to close down their offices in Kenya, they offered me the opportunity to buy the building and supported me in talking to the banks and off we went. So the property was always the foundation,” he narrated.
7). Real estate
He had an interest in some of East Africa’s most ambitious property developments including Two Rivers in Gigiri and the Pearl Marina Project in Uganda.
8). Corporate leadership
The late Kirubi also held leadership positions in at least 10 companies and organisations.
9). NSE Stocks
He was a major trader on the NSE where he owned shares ranging from KQ’s to insurance. He has been accumulating more shares at Centum. His holding in the investment firm was valued at highs of Sh. 12 billion in 2015 –the year when the last bull market ended. He also had stakes in key listed firms ranging from banks to insurance.
10). DHL Kenya
Kirubi reportedly owned a stake in DHL Kenya. DHL is a global logistics firm with a presence in over 220 countries and territories worldwide, particularly in sea and airmail.