The High Court has temporarily blocked the takeover of Kenya’s leading fuel marketer KenolKobil by Swiss-based Puma Energy.
Kenya Pipeline Company ( KPC) won an injunction stopping the marketer from entering into any sale agreement with Puma Energy until a legal suit over its Sh2 billion claim against KenolKobil is heard.
The case will be heard on September 24 when the court will decide whether to extend the injunction or not.
The injunction was handed down on Monday but only filtered out in the local media on Thursday.
KPC lawyer John Ohaga said the suit has been pending in court since 2010 and the company was apprehensive that tey will not be able to recover the money once the takeover takes place.
In early trading on Thursday, KenolKobil's share price rose 4.90 percent to 15 shillings as demand from the previous session carried over.
Puma's offer for a majority stake is expected to be unveiled after due diligence is completed. KenolKobil has downstream operations in 10 African countries.
Puma Energy is a subsidiary of Trafigura Beheer.
-Reuters
