Kenya Airways' State takeover, delisting Bill tabled in Parliament
Friday, June 26, 2020 9:00
By JOHN MUTUA
Kenya Airways planes at the JKIA in Nairobi.
FILE PHOTO | NMG
A Bill that will guide the sale of Kenya Airways (KQ) #ticker:KQ to the State was tabled in Parliament on Thursday, setting the stage for the buyout of minority shareholders at a premium and converting shares held by banks into Treasury bonds.
Kenya has reached an agreement with Air-France KLM on the offer price, which will be a premium on the carrier’s prevailing trading price at the Nairobi bourse.
A consortium of local lenders, who acquired 38 percent of the company’s equity during the 2017 restructuring, could be paid through government debt, possibly in 10-year Treasury bonds, Mr Yatani said.
Mr Yatani said the State was keen on a long-term solution anchored on nationalisation of Kenya Airways, arguing that the carrier’s financial troubles went beyond the Covid-related woes.
