Brookside takes over Rwanda’s top beverage firm

Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari is taken on a tour of Brookside Dairy Limited in Ruiri on January 28, 2016. The company has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Inyange Industries of Rwanda. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Inyange, with current investment of up to $70 million, will now hold 49 per cent.
  • The takeover is expected to build the company’s capacity in terms of expertise and financial resources in its quest to expand.

Brookside Dairy, a company owned by the Kenyatta family, has gained a foothold in Rwanda through the acquisition of another firm.

The company has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Inyange Industries, a leading beverage manufacturer in the country, according to reports in the online Indian Ocean Newsletter publication.

Inyange, with current investment of up to $70 million, will now hold 49 per cent.

The firm is engaged in three main production lines — milk, water and juice.

The takeover is expected to build the company’s capacity in terms of expertise and financial resources in its quest to expand.

Inyange Industries is owned by Crystal Ventures, the investment arm of the ruling party Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF).

Previously, Brookside and Inyange have been working with the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources to seek partnerships in improving quality of milk and access to markets.

Brookside has presence in Uganda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Kenya.

However, when contacted, Brookside Dairy’s director of milk procurement John Gethi said the company was not aware of the claims.

“We are not aware of any such developments,” Mr Gethi said through the company’s communications officer, Mr Wilson Okong’o.

In May 2015, Brookside Dairy Ltd paid Sh3.5 billion for 51 per cent shareholding in Sameer Agriculture & Livestock Limited, a dairy processing company in Uganda.

In 2013, Brookside acquired a 20 per cent stake in Ethiopia’s Elemtu Milk Integrated Industry (Elemtu Diary).

The company is managed by President Kenyatta’s younger brother, Muhoho Kenyatta, who keeps a low profile.