U.S. firm Seaboard still seeking to delist Kenya's Unga

US hog producer Seaboard Corporation will still seek to delist Unga Group despite failing to buy out minority shareholders in the Kenyan agro-processing firm, it said on Friday.

In February, Seaboard offered to buy the 46.15 percent of Unga’s shares that are held by minority shareholders and listed on the Nairobi bourse in order to take the company private.

But it did not meet its goal of buying out three quarters of the minority shareholders.

“Seaboard has decided to waive the minimum acceptance threshold and intends to complete the acquisition of the shares for which acceptances have been received,” it said in a notice published in the Daily Nation newspaper.

Some of the listed shares are owned by a local group of investors via a vehicle called Victus Ltd, which supports Seaboard’s goal of buying out minority shareholders and delisting the firm.

Seaboard, which had about 2 percent of Unga before the offer with Victus which has a 50.93 percent stake, needed to acquire three-quarters of the total issued share capital to be able to take Unga private.

Market participants said Unga, whose businesses range from wheat and maize milling to baking and animal nutrition products, faced growing competition from unlisted companies, hence the desire to take it private and operate on a similar footing.