Ali Mufuruki may not be well known across many Kenyans homesteads, at least not yet. That may soon change if what Mufuruki is eyeing pull through; he is reportedly working on acquiring 51% stake at Wananchi Group Limited, the parent company of the broadband fibre service provider Zuku.
Currently, he only has 1% stake at the company, and he is said to be working on acquiring at least another 50% of the shareholding. Kenya’s Fair Competition Commission (FCC) is also said to be currently work legality and economic impact of the acquisition.
FCC made a press statement announcing that it is currently investigating the intended acquisition checking to see it does not contravene the provision of the Fair Competition Act and the procedural rules.
FCC has also reached out to any interested stakeholder and asked them to register their interests or objections to the planned acquisition. The regulator is also asking the public to submit any information that will help it reach a just and reasonable conclusion with regards to the planned acquisition.
About Wananchi Group Holding Ltd
The company currently provides home entertainment through its pay TV service, broadband internet supply to residential and corporate customers via fibre optic network, and telecommunication services through its landline network.
The company began operating as Wananchi Online back in 2000, headed by Joe Mucheru and former CEO Njeri Rionge (featured here).
Eight years later, the startup changed name to Wananchi Group following several rounds of fund raising via debt and equity financing a list of investors, which includes the state-owned Export Development Canada, Dutch telecom firm Altice, New York-based Prudence Holdings, Nasdaq-listed cable firm Liberty Global Inc, Emerging Capital Partners among others.
The company currently has presence in various African countries including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Somalia, Zambia, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Mauritius.