[ad_1]
Billionaire investor Baloobhai Patel has purchased additional shares worth Sh216.5 million in Co-operative Bank of Kenya, narrowing the gap with the lender’s top individual owner Gideon Muriuki.
Co-op Bank’s latest regulatory filings show Mr Patel, who co-owns the stake with his wife Amarjeet, purchased 15.25 million shares between April and September this year to take his stake to 1.55 percent. This came in the period Mr Muriuki —the managing director of the lender— kept his stake unchanged at two percent.
The shareholding difference between the Patels and Mr Muriuki is now at 0.45 percentage points—the narrowest gaps since the former started accumulating shares in the lender.
In 2017, the Patels held a 0.33 percent stake while Mr Muriuki’s ownership stood at 1.88 percent.
From December 2019 when Mr Muriuki’s stake was at two percent and that of the Patels at 0.45 percent, the latter have been accumulating more shares, crossing the one percent mark last year.
The Patels’ latest 1.55 percent stake is a rise from 1.29 percent at the end of December 2023. The additional 15.25 million shares are currently valued at Sh216.55 million, going by Co-op Bank’s share price of Sh14.20 at the opening of trading at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on Monday.
The latest purchase adds to those of the previous year in which the Patels nearly doubled their stake in Co-op Bank to 1.29 percent from 0.69 percent they had at the end of 2022. Mr Muriuki in 2023 raised his stake marginally from 1.75 percent to two percent and has this year kept it unchanged.
The Patels’ stake is currently valued at Sh1.29 billion. Co-op Bank is among the listed firms where the Patels, who are long term investors, hold substantial stakes. They typically invest in profitable firms that pay dividends while also investing for future growth.
Co-op Bank paid a dividend of Sh1.50 per share on the performance for last year when net profit grew by 5.2 percent to Sh23.22 billion.
This means Patels are on course for a dividend of at least Sh136.4 million if they maintain their stake at the current position.
Co-op Bank has historically maintained or raised its dividends over the years. The lender’s share price has appreciated by 24.56 percent since the start of the year, making it one of the best performers on the NSE. The price appreciation of Co-op Bank stock has sent the market capitalisation of the lender to Sh83.3 billion, keeping it in the league of top five most valuable firms on the NSE.
The Patels also hold significant stakes in other NSE firms such as Absa Bank Kenya where their stake crossed the one percent mark last December to hit 1.03 percent after purchasing additional 5.8 million shares.
Other firms in which they have stakes include Carbacid Investments, Bamburi Cement, Sanlam Kenya and CIC Group, making them one of Kenya’s biggest NSE investors.
[ad_2]
