World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and and French private fund Amethis have sold their stake in Naivas Supermarket.
The World Bank’s IFC and Amethis sold their 30 percent stake in Naivas Supermarket to a cluster of investors led by Mauritian conglomerate IBL Group.
The IBL Group said that its investment in Naivas is its largest, underlining Naivas’ position as a regional retail powerhouse. “The investment in Naivas International [the owner of the retail chain] is the biggest investment in IBL’s history,” the multinational said in a statement.
Naivas had in 2020 made Sh. 6 billion from the sale of the stake in a deal that moved the retailer’s value to Sh. 20 billion. Others who took part in the deal included MCB Equity Fund and German sovereign wealth fund DEG.
IFC had invested $15 million while DEG said it provided $10 million. IFC—a sister organization of the World Bank and member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in developing countries.
Prior to the 2020 acquisition deal, Naivas has been running as a privately owned company, whose shares are held by the descendants of its founder Peter Mukuha Kago, who died on 6 May 2010.
According to Arnaud Lagesse, IBL’s chief executive officer, the acquisition of a stake in Naivas will give IBL a platform for further investments in East Africa.
“This family business created in 1990 is an example of a success story that has continued to grow despite the pandemic thanks to its strong business model,” Arnaud said in a statement.
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Naivas Limited was registered on 24 July 1990. It previously traded as Rongai Self Service Stores Limited, serving mainly in Rongai in Nakuru County. The company name was changed later to Naivasha Self Service Stores Limited, before re-branding to the current Naivas Limited, in 2007.