Savannah Clinker withdraws offer to take over Bamburi Cement after Benson Ndeta’s arrest

Savannah Clinker Limited has withdrawn its competing offer to take over Bamburi Cement with the approval of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).

The board, in a statement on Wednesday, said the withdrawal has been occasioned by the public arrest of the Chairman and main shareholder of Savannah Clinker, Benson Ndeta.

“The withdrawal of the competing offer has been occasioned by the recent well-publicised arrest and indictment of the chairman and main shareholder of Savanna, which has led to the financier of the competing offer seeking additional due diligence, coupled with the decline by the CMA of a request made on December 2, 2024, to extend the offer period by 60 days to enable the competing offer to respond to any inquiries,” the board said.

Ndeta was arrested on Friday last week and charged with defrauding ABSA bank USD35 million (Ksh.4.5 billion), purporting to act on behalf of Savannah Cement Limited.

He spent the weekend in police custody and was on Monday charged with eight counts among them conspiracy to commit a felony, obtaining execution of a security by false pretences and uttering false documents.

The businessman pleaded not guilty to all the counts and was released unconditionally after the court was told that there is a High Court order issued stopping his prosecution and detention.

Meanwhile, Tanzanian conglomerate, Amson’s Group has received approval from the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs for its proposed acquisition of Bamburi Cement.

This approval follows the prior unconditional clearance from the COMESA Competition Commission.

The conglomerate, through its Kenyan subsidiary Amsons Industries Kenya, made a Ksh.23.9 billion offer in July to buy a 100 per cent stake in the listed cement manufacturer.

"Securing all the regulatory approvals is a strong vote of confidence in our unwavering commitment to this transaction,” Amsons Group CEO Edha Nahdi said in a media release, a day before the offer period closes on December 5.

“As we approach the close of the offer period, we are confident in our ability to finalise the acquisition smoothly while delivering value to Bamburi Cement shareholders. This milestone reinforces the strength and credibility of our offer.”

Savannah Clinker had in August placed a Ksh25.4 billion offer to acquire Bamburi.

Savannah would later offer an additional Ksh1.8 billion to Bamburi shareholders if the deal materializes, Ndeta, said then.