Kenya Orchards Limited (KOL), which makes and sells bottled and tinned fruit and vegetable products for domestic consumption,  has rebranded as Africa Mega Agricorp Plc following the purchase of 84% of its shares by Africa Mega Agricorp, Business Daily reported on January 29.

The buyout deal, first disclosed in June 2024, saw 10.86mn shares in the Nairobi-listed retailer acquired from Westpac Holdings Ltd (34%) and directors Thakarshi Keshav Patel (33.6%) and Vipul Thakarshi Patel (14.88%).

The financial terms of the deal remain undisclosed, but at Kenya Orchards' December 2024 closing price of KES 70 ($0.54) per share, the acquired stake is now valued at KES 760.4mn ($5.88mn), up from KES 210mn ($1.62mn) based on June's share price of KES 19.50 ($0.15).

The transaction was concluded through a private sale and asset transfers to settle outstanding debts, and it was approved by shareholders in an extraordinary general meeting in August 2024. A notice published on January 29 confirmed that the company’s name change was formalised with the receipt of a certificate from the Registrar of Companies on December 16, 2024.

The company reported an 8.1% decline in profit after tax for the year ending December 2023, falling to KES 1.77mn ($13,678.56) from KES 1.92mn ($14,837.76) the previous year, reflecting a challenging operating environment.

In a circular to shareholders dated July 23, Kenya Orchards clarified that Africa Mega Agricorp would not extend the offer to remaining shareholders nor pursue a delisting from the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

This deal follows a similar transaction in 2023, when East Africa Batteries Limited sold a 35% stake in Eveready East Africa to Dubai-based InvestAfrica FZCO, which also opted not to buy out minority shareholders or delist the company.