Kenya's Ukwala supermarket is set to be taken over by a Botswana enterprise, even as an earlier takeover bid by Tuskys supermarket was turned down by the government.
In a conditional agreement Botswana based Choppies enterprises limited will take over Ukwala's 10 retail outlets, 3 in Nairobi, 2 in nakuru and 5 in Kisumu.
According to the agreement between the two supermarkets, Choppies Supermarket will buy the assets and the business name for about Sh970 million subject to final due diligence and inventory valuation.
The purchase consideration will be funded with debt and from existing cash resources subject to approval by the Competition Authority in Kenya and other relevant regulatory approvals, The Standard reports.
An earlier successful bid secured by Tuskys supermarket to take over Ukwala's Nairobi branches was blocked by the Competition Authority citing fears that the move would have seen tuskys dominate the scene to the detriment of other retail chains.
The two supermarkets -Tuskys and Ukwala- according to The Nation were fined Sh5.3 million for failing to inform the authority about the takeover.
