Cytonn and Finland’s Taaleri enhance partnership

By Rawlexx79

Cytonn Investments Management Plc (Cytonn) has entered into a transaction with its leading institutional partner, Taaleri of Finland, allowing Taaleri to subscribe up to 20% of Cytonn’s shares.

Upon consummation, the transaction enhances Cytonn’s and Taaleri’s relationship – beyond project finance, to shareholding.

This will be the fifth time the Finnish firm will be investing in the leading alternative investment management firm within the East African Region, having already committed over Ksh5.0 billion (US$49.5 million) towards projects and investments with Cytonn.

Collectively, the investments comprise of projects such as: The Alma, The Ridge, Situ Village and Amara Ridge, which has already been delivered to homeowners.

In addition to their added investments, Taaleri has thus far achieved their return on investment, from the Amara Ridge project and The Alma project, underlining Cytonn’s commitment(s) to delivering above-average returns in real estate investments – for global institutional investors.

Taaleri is a financial group, whose parent company Taaleri Oyj’s shares are listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Taaleri manages investments worth Ksh813 billion(US$8.04 billion), and provides funding in the capital-intensive real estate sector in Africa – through two Africa dedicated real estate funds.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Edwin H. Dande, CEO of Cytonn Investments, noted that:

“We are thankful to Taaleri for the continued support they have shown to the Cytonn brand. This transaction is important for two reasons; first it affirms market confidence in our brand and unique business model, and second it provides a strong anchor investor as we prepare for our IPO, which we hope to complete next year, either at a local or global exchange.”

“We have already engaged with two sets of transaction advisors, in Nairobi and London, to explore a local listing either at the Nairobi Securities Exchange, NSE, or a listing at the London Stock Exchange, LSE, respectively,” he added.

Acording to Dande, the ultimate listing jurisdiction will depend on valuation, investor interest and ease of listing. He said Cytonn also hopes to broaden its partnerships by bringing on board one additional local or global anchor institutional investor at the IPO.

Speaking at the signing, Mr. Juhani Elomaa, CEO of Taaleri Group, who recently visited Cytonn’s real estate projects noted:

“Taaleri and Cytonn are now in their fifth year of partnership, and Cytonn remains our trusted partner for deploying capital to the East African Region.”

“Through Cytonn, Finnish Pension Funds and Investors have not only earned attractive returns that are not available in the developed markets, but we have contributed to growing the Kenyan economy, creating jobs, and driving the deepening of capital markets through structured finance transactions,” Elomaa added.

According to Elomaa, the share options agreement for a 20% stake is an opportunity to deepen the relationship between the two, beyond project financing – to shareholding.

Cytonn Investments Management Plc. is an independent investment management firm, with offices in Nairobi, Kenya and D.C. Metro, U.S.A.

It is primarily focused on offering alternative investment solutions to individual high net-worth investors, global and institutional investors and Kenyans in the diaspora interested in the high-growth East-African region.

It currently has over Ksh82.0 billion (US$811.3million) of investments and projects under its mandate, mainly in real estate.

Source: African Strategic-Ventures (ASV) & The Exchange.