New Nation Media Group owner vows to safeguard editorial independence

Taifa Group Founder, Rostam Azizi, and Sultan Ali Allana, Director of the Aga Khan Fund sign transaction documents in Nairobi. [Courtesy]  

Tanzanian billionaire Rostam Azizi has vowed to protect the editorial independence of Nation Media Group (NMG) after his firm, Taarifa Ltd, acquired the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development's (AKFED) controlling stake in the regional media house.

AKFED sold its entire stake in NPRT Holdings Africa Ltd, the investment vehicle holding a 54.08 percent interest in NMG, to Taarifa Ltd. 

"We are not going to compromise on the independence of our media company because of advertising," Azizi said at the announcement of the acquisition in Nairobi on Wednesday. 

He pledged that his entry into NMG would deepen investment and professionalism at the media group, adding that the partnership rests on three pillars: strong institutions that serve the public interest, professionalism and the capacity to tell East Africa's own story.

"You can be assured that our entry into Nation Media Group will only strengthen it by investments, by more professionalism, by independence that you guys enjoy," he noted. 

On fears of job cuts and bureau closures, Azizi said the company plans to expand its reach to the youth, the largest age bracket, allaying concerns over redundancy.

NMG shares will continue trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange and other cross-listed platforms.

Azizi highlighted his successes with Vodacom Tanzania, which he founded in 1999, and with Tigo, rebranded as Yas, which he took over after exiting Vodacom in 2019, as a sign of a potential turnaround for NMG.

"In the last three years, I have been involved in Tigo, now called Yas; it is now, I would say, pretty much the number one mobile telecom company in Tanzania. It is neck and neck with Vodacom Tanzania," he said.

"You can see when I enter a company, I turn it around; I make it more successful."

The takeover by Taarifa Ltd, a subsidiary of Taifa Group, comes months after AKFED did an internal reorganisation that saw it transfer its shareholding in NMG to NPRT Holdings Africa Ltd, a newly formed Kenyan subsidiary.

The latest transaction gives Azizi majority ownership of NMG through the acquisition of 92,618,177 ordinary shares.

According to Forbes, Azizi became Tanzania's first dollar billionaire in 2013, with a net worth estimated at more than $1 billion (Sh129.2 billion). 

His portfolio spans telecommunications, energy, mining, agriculture, real estate, port facilities and construction. 

NMG traces its origins to 1959 when Prince Karim Aga Khan IV acquired the Kiswahili weekly Taifa Leo, laying the foundation for a multi-platform media organisation with more than 30 brands, a digital audience exceeding 62 million users and over 1,000 employees across Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, which are expected to be completed within three to four months.