Kenya Orchards Limited rebrands to Africa Mega Agricorp after majority stake sale
KENYA – Kenya Orchards Limited (KOL) has officially changed its name to Africa Mega Agricorp Plc following the sale of an 84 percent stake to Africa Mega Agriculture Centre (AMAC).
The buyout, first announced in June 2024, has now been finalized after receiving shareholder approval at an extraordinary general meeting in August 2024.
“Notice is hereby given that Kenya Orchards Limited has changed its name to Africa Mega Agricorp Plc, following due approval of shareholders and receipt of certificate of change of name issued by the registrar of Companies dated December 16, 2024,” the company stated.
The transaction involved the sale of 10.86 million shares previously held by Westpac Holdings Ltd (34.28%), directors Thakarshi Keshav Patel (33.6%) and Vipul Thakarshi Patel (14.88%), as well as Hansa Dinesh Chandra Shah (1.65%).
The parties agreed to execute the deal through a private transaction, including asset transfers to settle outstanding dues.
At the time of the initial announcement, KOL shares were trading at KES 19.50 (US$0.15), valuing the transaction at approximately KES 210 million (US$1.6M).
However, a sharp increase in the stock’s value saw it close at KES 70 (US$0.54) per share by the end of December 2024.
While the final settlement price remains undisclosed, based on the latest valuation, the stake is now worth an estimated KES 760.4 million (US$5.88M).
A circular sent to shareholders on July 23, 2024, indicated that Africa Mega Agricorp would not extend an offer to remaining shareholders and had no plans to delist KOL from the stock exchange.
Kenya Orchards Limited, previously focused on the distribution of processed fruits, vegetables, and other food products, is now under the management of AMAC, an agribusiness company specializing in equipment leasing, agro-processing, storage solutions, and market facilitation.
In the fiscal year 2023, KOL’s profit after tax declined by 8.1 percent from KES 1.91 million (US$14,763) to KES 1.77 million (US$13,681).
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