Monday, Sep 09, 2013
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--Dubai's Al Futtaim on Monday said it made a $86 million offer to buy CMC Holdings, a Nairobi-based car dealer, as the family conglomerate seeks to tap the fast-growing consumer market in sub-Saharan Africa.
Al Futtaim, which is offering 13 Kenyan shillings a CMC share, said a little over half of CMC's shareholders supported the takeover. CMC is listed on the Nairobi Securities exchange.
"We are continuing our expansion drive across Africa and we hope that CMC will be the jewel in the crown of our inroads into this great continent," said Marwan Shehadeh, group director corporate development at Al Futtaim.
Al Futtaim said its 7.5 billion Kenyan shillings offer, which still needs approval from CMC's board and regulators, represents one of the biggest foreign investments in Kenya in recent years and underlines the appeal of the East African economy to international busines groups.
Egypt's EFG Hermes acted as financial adviser to Al Futtaim.
Al Futtaim, which itself has distribution rights for Toyota in the United Arab Emirates, will enable CMC to offer more brands beyond its existing portfolio which includes Volkswagen, Mazda and Suzuki among others.
Write to Nicolas Parasie at nicolas.parasie@wsj.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
09-09-13 1239GMT
