Uchumi picks lead advisors ahead of Cross Listing &Right Issue

  Uchumi Supermarket has appointed transaction advisors to spearhead its proposedCross Listing and Right Issue processes.The process is expected to begin with the cross listing of Uchumi shares in three East African securities exchanges with a view to widen itsshareholder base, and subsequently a simultaneous Rights Issue across East Africa.

The retail chain has picked and approved Faida Investment Bank as the Lead Transaction Advisor and Sponsoring Stock Broker, Equity Bank as Receiving Bank, Hamilton Harrison & Matthews Advocates as Legal Advisor, Ernst &Young as Reporting Accountants, Funguo Registrars as the Share Registrars, and Hill & Knowlton Strategies as the Public Relations and advertising consultant.

Uchumi Group Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Jonathan Ciano said the appointment of the advisors sets the pace for the process which will provide additional funding to anchor business growth and working capital needs arising from the expanded network.

“We announced our intention to raise additional funds a few months ago and we are keen to accomplish this process successfully by the end of the calendar year. This requires that we put in place a competent professional team that will engage various stakeholders including the regulators, shareholders, and the public in the East African region at various stages. We are confident that we now have a competent team to assist us achieve this goal within the stipulated time,” said Dr. Ciano.

The company is seeking additional capital to finance its regional growth and expansion programme as the retail chain seeks to consolidate its position in the market.  The sourced funds will be utilised to support new retail network branches in Kenya and the region as well as refurbish Kenyan branches.

“In the next one year or so, we plan to open around 13 retail branches across East Africa in a bid to competitively and strategically position our business and these will also require substantial capital spend. We also want to proactively position ourselves and be able to adequately finance working capital for our subsidiaries with a consequent growth in market share and sales volumes, reflective of demographic and economic regional growth” Ciano said.

“In 2011/12, the retail chain invested upto Ksh513 million in new branches, existing stores refurbishment and old equipment replacements. It is indeed time we plan to take the business to the next level to reflect the expectation of our stakeholders in general.”

The team will now embark on the preparation of the documents needed for the approval of the transaction by the Regulators and Securities Exchanges in the region.

“We are optimistic that the investors who have been loyal to us during our challenging times will respond positively as they’ve noted what we have been able to achieve to date,” said Dr. Ciano.