KenolKobil Plc has announced plans to acquire up to 33 retail outlets in Uganda and Rwanda.
The Pan African oil marketer, in a statement, says it has agreed terms to secure the service stations from Delta Petroleum by way of asset sale.
Delta Petroleum Uganda Limited has agreed to cede 23 outlets, while Delta Petroleum Rwanda limited will offer 10.
The purchase will be through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Kobil Uganda Limited and Kobil Rwanda Limited.
“The acquisitions are in line with the board’s growth strategy through organic and inorganic retail network expansion. The acquisition also reaffirm the board’s commitment to grow the contribution of other business outside Kenya to the group’s bottom line,” said the firm.
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The move is subject to regulatory approvals in the respective countries. It will see KenolKobil increase the number of service stations to 61 in Rwanda and 56 in Uganda.
The firm has 400 outlets in Kenya, Zambia, Burundi and Ethiopia. The latest financial report shows that KenolKobil held cash reserves of Ksh3.5 billion.
The acquisition plan come days after Capital Market Authority, the bourse regulator, launched an investigation after it acknowledged irregular trading of the KenolKobil counter at Nairobi Securities Exchange prior to Rubis Énergie’s intention to purchase it at Ksh23 per share, valuing it at Ksh35.7 billion.
(Editing by John Njiru)
