Seasoned investor with knack for a hard bargain

Businessman Chris Kirubi has dipped his hands in many sectors of the economy, raising his stock among the wealthiest and prominent personalities in Kenya.

From manufacturing, to insurance and property and a recent interest in broadcasting, Mr Kirubi has made his wealth through what many who know him describe as a “good insight for a business opportunity”.

His aggressiveness, insights, desire for driving a hard bargain and bringing the best out of his team forms part of his true character.

“Also he tends to be quite forthright,” says Robert Bunyi, a director on the board of Centum, a leading investment company.

At 70, Mr Kirubi considers himself young at heart, preferring the nick name “DJ CK”, following his acquisition of Capital FM radio.

Broadcasting is one of his recent interests, which saw the acquisition of Capital FM followed by his Capital Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television network. CBC TV got the right to air CNBC Africa, the 24-hour business news channel.

While broadcasting might appear to be taking some time to gain traction, Kirubi’s investment in Centum, the listed quasi private equity firm, seems to be climbing out of the hole of declining profits.

The fall in share prices at the Nairobi Stock Exchange and an investment in Rift Valley Railways gone awry caused Centum’s drop in profits by 64 per cent to Sh313 million last year.

Mr Kirubi controls 26.82 per cent of Centum. He is the largest individual shareholder with 91 million shares, giving him 16.6 per cent ownership in the company.

His proxy companies Kiruma International and International House Ltd hold 5.15 per cent and 4.19 per cent respectively while Kirubi Ltd has 0.88 per cent. With the Centum shares trading at Sh22, his estimated worth in the investment firm is Sh3.24 billion.

Many in the investment circles see Mr Kirubi’s deft hand in Centum’s recent aggressive moves into real estate (an area in which he has expansive knowledge through International House Ltd) and changing tack to raise money from wealth individuals and institutions in its new desire to establish itself as a private equity unit.

The businessman’s interest in property is highlighted by a controlling stake in International House Ltd.

Apart from owning the building going by the same name in Nairobi’s Central Business District, the firm also owns property in upmarket areas of the city like in Brookside Drive, Westlands.

It is in International House that Mr Kirubi’s intricate and deft connection to the political elite opens to the public. David K. Kibaki, son of President Kibaki, is a non-executive director of International House Ltd and is believed to represent the interests of the First Family.

It is also generally believed that Mr Kirubi has been able to pull many strings in the business landscape because of his wide connections at the right places.

Perhaps the only blemish in the businessman’s CV is the Uchumi case, in which he and 13 former directors are accused of selling one of the supermarket chain’s branches fraudulently.

Despite the setback, Mr Kirubi seems Mr Peter Mwangi, the Nairobi Stock Exchange Chief Executive, describes Mr Kirubi as “having enormous reserves of energy combined with a capacity to engage relentlessly with business and management issues”.