Mauritian firm raises stake in US embassy estate maker – Business Daily
US Embassy housing estate Rosslyn Springs homes during a past sale in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG
Mauritius-based Grit Real Estate Income Group has completed the purchase of an extra 8.72 per cent stake in Gateway Real Estate Africa Ltd (GREA), which has recently completed the development of a $48.5 million (Sh5.8 billion) housing estate for the US Embassy in Nairobi.
Grit said in regulatory filings that it paid $19.4 million (Sh2.33 billion) to Gateway Partners, a Dubai-based private equity fund and co-founder of GREA for the additional shares, which raised its stake in the firm to 35.01 per cent from 26.29 per cent.
The Mauritian firm expects to raise its direct stake in GREA further to 48.62 per cent by December. It began adding to its stake in April when it pushed its holding from 19.98 per cent to 26.29 per cent.
“Grit remains on track and is making strong progress on acquiring a controlling interest in GREA by December 2022…. The completion of this transaction would provide Grit’s shareholders with enhanced income and capital growth from GREA’s fully funded pipeline of accretive development assets, which collectively have reached 80 per cent completion,” said Grit in a trading update.
Grit in March completed the purchase of Orbit Products Africa’s manufacturing facilities from businessman Sachen Chandaria in a deal worth $53.6 million (Sh6.4 billion).
This acquisition further enhanced its presence in the local real estate sector where it also owns half of Naivasha Buffalo Mall and a pharmaceutical warehouse along Mombasa Road that it leases out to South Africa’s Imperial Health Sciences Logistics.
If it closes its bid for a controlling stake in GREA by the end of the year, Grit will also effectively own half of the US Embassy housing project in Rosslyn Estate, which GREA has developed jointly with US-based Verdant Ventures.
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