Equity stake of Babla family in Kenya Commercial Bank now worth $22.3 million

The joint equity stake of the Mombasa-based multimillionaire Babla family in Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) Group Limited is now worth $22.41 million (Ksh2.42 billion). The family, who relocated to Kenya from Tanzania in 1936, is a leading investor in KCB Group.

KCB Group is a leading banking group based in Kenya. It is the country’s largest bank and the second-largest in the East Africa region.

The bank recently transitioned into a holding structure to enable investments in new ventures in the financial services sector, while running its primary banking operations through subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Through direct investments from key members, including Karsandas and Sandip Babla, the family has built up their ownership stake in KCB Group over the years, from less than 0.5 percent in 2010 to 1.72 percent as of December 2020.

As of 6:30 pm (UTC+1), July 7, the shares in the group were trading at $0.398 (Ksh42.95) per share, up by 0.59 percent from the day’s opening market price.

At this price, the market capitalization of KCB is valued at $1.28 billion (Ksh138.02 billion), or $144.38-million (Ksh15.59 billion) higher than its valuation of $1.13 billion (Ksh122.43 billion) as of the opening of the Nairobi Stock Exchange this year.

The multimillionaire family’s joint stake, which amounts to 55,236,600 ordinary shares, is presently valued at $21.98 million (Ksh2.37 billion).

Billionaires.Africa reported last month that the market value of the family’s shares rose by $3.7 million (Ksh403.2 million) in 128 days.

The $3.7-million gain is the result of an uptick in the company’s share price on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.