KenGen says seeks lead broker for rights issue

Kenyan power producer KenGen said on Friday it was seeking a lead broker for a rights issue that is expected to be launched by the end of March.

KenGen, the east African country's main power producer which is 70 percent state-owned, will carry out a cash call to raise 30 billion shillings ($331 million). The firm advertised for a lead broker in newspapers on Friday.

The energy ministry said last year that the issue could be completed in the first quarter of 2015.

KenGen had said on Thursday that its plans for capital restructuring were advanced, but did not give details.

The company's pretax profit for the six months to December more than doubled to 3.79 billion shillings ($41 million) from 1.84 billion shillings a year earlier. The firm's financial year runs from July to June.