Browns Investments Plc (BIL) announced plans to acquire Lipton’s tea operations in Kenya, Tanzania, and Rwanda from their UK and Netherlands-based parent companies. This strategic acquisition will position BIL – a Colombo Stock Exchange-listed firm with plantations in Sri Lanka – as the world’s largest tea producer, with an annual output of 87 million kilograms.
BIL and Lipton Teas and Infusions said in a joint statement that the partnership aims to enhance tea quality and implement responsible farming practices on their estates in Kenya and Sri Lanka.
Moreover, the partnership plans to distribute 15% of the shares of the principal Kenyan operating company to the communities of Kericho and Bomet. Lipton Teas and Infusions and BIL will establish a Community Welfare Trust endowed with one billion Kenyan shillings.
The acquisition will be done by BIL’s UAE-based subsidiary, B Commodities ME FZE. The company has signed a Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Ekaterra Holdco UK Limited and the Netherlands-based Ekaterra Group Holdings BV and Ekaterra Group Holdings 2 BV. This agreement will grant BIL control over the African entities, as detailed in a stock exchange filing.
Under the terms of the SPA, Browns Investments will acquire 100% ownership of Rwanda-based Lipton Teas and Infusions Rwanda Limited and Tanzania-based Lipton Teas and Infusions Tanzania Limited. Additionally, the company will purchase 98.56% of Kenya-based Lipton Teas and Infusions Kenya Plc and 51.99% of Limura Tea Plc. Ekaterra, previously the tea division of Unilever, had been sold to CVC Capital Partners.
BIL – a member of the LOLC Group – reported a hefty group profit of Rs20 billion for the nine months to the end of December 2023. Its balance sheet then was Rs498 billion. LOLC and BIL are among Sri Lanka’s largest conglomerates with global reach and ambitious investment plans.
The group plans to build The Marina Hotel and mixed-development Colombo Marina at the Port City Colombo, comprising facilities for boating, dining, shopping and nightlife activities. With several hotels in Sri Lanka, BIL also has a four-star, 100-room beachfront hotel in Mauritius. Construction on a hotel and an apartment complex in the Maldives was also in the works, as reported in its 2022/23 annual report.
