Roto tanks maker set to list on Thursday

The makers of the Zoe brand of cosmetics and Roto tanks, Flame Tree Group, is to list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on Thursday.

The family-owned firm will list 190 million shares at Sh8 each on the NSE’s Growth Enterprise Market Segment (GEMS) on November 6.

This follows a successful private share sale that attained a 158 per cent subscription rate, raising Sh194 million.

In the private share sale, the firm’s founder and CEO, Mr Heril Bangera, disposed of a 15 per cent stake in an oversubscribed private placement in which 24.3 million shares were sold to local institutional investors.

Burbridge Capital was the lead transaction adviser and is also the nominated adviser on the listing.

Flame Tree will be the second entity to list on the GEMS, 15 months after property developer Home Afrika listed in July last year.

Mr Bangera said the fresh capital will be used to step up production.

“Within the fast-moving consumer goods segment, we have a 4 per cent market share with (the) Zoe brand and we believe there is a lot of room for growth. The private placement has mobilised institutional funds to finance projects, purchase raw materials and increase working capital,” Mr Bangera said last week.

In 2013, the firm registered a Sh1.6 billion turnover and anticipates to double it in five years.

Mr Bangera established Flame Tree 25 years ago with a focus on making plastic tanks.

The firm has since grown beyond making tanks and has a number of wholly owned subsidiaries in Mauritius, Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Mozambique.