TransCentury Limited is an

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

company whose stock is "listed on the

Nairobi Securities Exchange The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...

(NSE) with three divisions across 14 countries in East, Central and Southern Africa".

Location

The company's headquarters are located in

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya, with subsidiaries in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Overview

TransCentury is an investment and infrastructure company that has grown from a club of 29 friends worth less than KES 30 million in 1997, to a private equity firm and later listing on the NSE. As at December 2014, TransCentury's total assets were valued at about KSh.19.464 billion/=, with shareholders' equity valued at approximately KSh.11.482 billion/=. The firm acquired a controlling interest in East African Cables in 2004, Avery in 2005, 34% of

Rift Valley Railways Rift Valley Railways (RVR) was a consortium established to manage the parastatal railways of Kenya Railways, Kenya and Uganda Railways Corporation, Uganda. The consortium won the bid for private management of the century-old Uganda Railway in 2 ...

in 2006, Tanelec and Kewberg cables in 2007 and Civicon in 2011. Exited investments include Chai Bora of Tanzania which was acquired in 2008 (it was later sold to Catalyst Principal Partners in 2013 for an undisclosed amount) and a minority stake in Castle Brewery Kenya Limited (an

SABMiller SABMiller plc was an Anglo–South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by AB InBev for US$107-billion. It was the world's sec ...

subsidiary) which it exited in 2002 when the brewer's parent firm pulled out of the local market after a market truce with

EABL East African Breweries Limited, commonly referred to as EABL, is a Kenyan-based holding company that manufactures branded beer, spirits, and non-alcoholic beverages. Overview The group's headquarters are located in Nairobi, Kenya, with subsi ...

. TransCentury exited

(RVR) in April 2014 by selling its 34% stake in the Consortium to Citadel Capital of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

for an estimated KSh.3.216 billion/= (US$37.8 million). TransCentury first invested in RVR in December 2006 by acquiring a 20% stake in the company and later increased its shareholding to 34% in May 2010. In June 2014, TransCentury announced that it was going to invest a subs tantial sum from the RVR sale in a 35-megawatts geothermal power plant consortium in Menengai.

Member companies

The companies that comprise the TransCentury Group of companies include, but are not limited, to the following, as at . * East African Cables –

: TransCentury's first major investment. It is a cable manufacturing company that is listed on the NSE as CABL. It has subsidiaries in Kenya and Tanzania and distribution networks across the

Eastern Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

region. In 2014, TransCentury owned 64.3 percent of East African Cables. On 26 February 2014, TransCentury announced that it was in talks with Aureos East Africa Fund LLC to acquire all of the shares held by Aureos in East African Cables in exchange for shares of the company, by way of a share swap. This transaction increased the group's shareholding in East African Cables to 68.38%. * East African Cables Tanzania Limited –

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

. East African Cables holds 51.4% of this Tanzanian subsidiary. This gives TransCentury 35.2% controls of East African Cables Tanzania Limited. * Avery (East Africa) Limited –

: Avery supplies, manufactures, maintains and repairs weighing scales. TransCentury owns 94.4% of Avery. * Civicon –

Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital status in 1907. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town is ...

: Civicon Limited is an engineering firm. Civicon has operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Congo DR and South Sudan. Its capabilities include oil and gas, power, industrial installations, specialised transport, roads, bridges, other civil works, and mining. In 2013, Civicon won a lucrative contract that involved building of roads, airstrips and other supporting infrastructure around

Tullow Oil Tullow Oil plc is a multinational oil and gas exploration company founded in Tullow, Ireland, with its headquarters in London, United Kingdom. The company is listed on the London Stock Exchange. History The company was founded by Aidan Hea ...

's exploration blocks in northern Kenya. TransCentury owns a controlling stake in Civicon. * Kewberg –

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

: Kewberg Cables & Braids Proprietary Limited is a leading manufacturer of instrumentation and control cables, mining and other specialised cables manufactured according to customer specifications. TransCentury own 100% of Kewberg. * Tanelec –

Arusha Arusha is a city in Tanzania. The city is the Capital city, capital of the Arusha Region. It has a population of 617,631 people.

: Tanelec Limited offers comprehensive repair and service on

switchgear In an electric power system, a switchgear is composed of electrical disconnect switches, fuses or circuit breakers used to control, protect and isolate electrical equipment. Switchgear is used both to de-energize equipment to allow work to ...

s and transformers. The company services Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. TransCentury owns 70% of Tanelec. * Cableries Du Congo –

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ), formerly named Léopoldville from 1881–1966 (), is the Capital city, capital and Cities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Kinshasa is one of the world's fastest-grow ...

DR Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

: A cable manufacturing and distribution company. TransCentury owns 100% of Cableries Du Congo. * Development Bank of Kenya –

: A

commercial bank A commercial bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and gives loans for the purposes of consumption and investment to make a profit. It can also refer to a bank or a division of a larger bank that deals with whol ...

in Kenya whose primary focus is to promote and develop commercially viable projects in Kenya. TransCentury owns 10.70% of Development Bank of Kenya with the balance held by ICDC.

Ownership

The shares of the TransCentury are listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange under the symbol TCL. As of December 2014, the shareholding of TransCentury was as follows:

Governance

TransCentury is governed by an eight-person Board of Directors with Shaka Kariuki as the chairman and Ng’ang’a Njiinu as the CEO.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links

TransCentury CEO Gachao Kiuna resigns

Who Owns Kenya
Companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange 1997 establishments in Kenya Companies established in 1997 Companies based in Nairobi Conglomerate companies of Kenya