Tanzanian businessman Rostam Azizi has acquired the Nation Media Group. Azizi has bought off the total majority stake of 54.08 percent that was owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED). The AKFED is part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
Azizi has made the acquisition through his firm which is known as Taarifa Ltd. To make this transaction, the Aga Khans will be offloading 100 percent of their shareholding in NPRT Holdings Africa Limited through which they have been NMG shareholders with a stake of 54.08 percent.
The acquisition brings the ownership of NMG by the Aga Khan family to an end after six decades.
“Today, AKFED announced that it has agreed to sell its 100 percent shareholding in NPRT Holdings Africa Limited, to Taarifa Ltd a statement that was issued by the Nation chief executive officer Geoffrey Odundo to members of staff said.
“This transaction marks the conclusion of AKFED’s 66-year association with Nation Media Group, a journey that began in 1959 with the founding of what would become the Nation Media and has helped grow the organization into a multi-platform media group serving audiences across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and the rest of Africa.”
According to Mr. Odundo, this transaction is expected to be concluded by July this year.
“Completion of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals across the jurisdictions in which Nation Media operates and is expected to take approximately three to four months,” he said.
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The ownership of NMG by Azizi will not be the first time that he is venturing into media business. The entrepreneur was previously the co-founder and shareholder of Mwananchi Communications Limited in Tanzania.
His stay at Mwananchi was between year 2000 and year 2006. While there, he founded Tanzanian newspapers Mwananchi, The Citizen, and Mwanaspoti. These newspapers were later acquired by NMG.
