Dubai-based Abraaj Group, an emerging markets equity firm with extensive investments in Africa has agreed to acquire Java House, a coffee chain based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Java House Group was established in 1999 by Mr. Kevin Ashley who later sold 90% stake to Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) in 2012 as he sought to raise additional capital to expand. The chain has since grown from 13 outlets in Nairobi to 60 outlets in 10 cities in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.
Diageo Plc, the world’s largest spirits maker with big footprints in Africa in both beer and spirits segment said recently it has a strong positive outlook for its business on the continent. The group’s Africa president John O’Keeffe last week spoke with analysts on a wide range of issues pertaining to the group’s activities and strategy on the continent.
Crown Beverages, a Kenyan unit of SABMiller was fined an “administrative penalty” of Sh2.4m Kenyan shillings ($23,700) for engaging in restrictive trade practices by setting minimum price rules for its distributors.
This follows an investigation by The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK), which found two clauses in Crown Beverages distributor contracts that set price floors for distributors who sell its products.
Remy Cointreau’s CEO, Valerie Chapoulaud-Floquet, said on Thursday Africa’s contribution to the spirit maker’s revenue continues to grow and will soon be equal to 15% of Europe’s sales, up from less than 10% in the previous fiscal year.
Commenting on the firm’s full-year financial results, which saw the French spirits maker post an impressive 10.6% rise in profits, Ms. Chapoulaud-Floquet, said that Africa is like Asia 25 years ago, forecasting that the continent’s sales contribution to the firm will accelerate in the coming years.
Nigerian beverage-can maker, GZ Industries Limited, based in Agbara, Ogun State, has said that it will open a new plant in Kenya in 2016.
The Sultan Hamud plant which GZ Industries started building in 2014 is nearing completion and will produce about 2.4bn cans yearly. In September, the company announced that it was expanding into South Africa with the construction of a 1bn rand ($71 million) factory in Johannesburg.
The Sultan Hamud plant lies on the main railway line of Kenya Railways, which connects the coastal city of Mombasa and the capital Nairobi.
