Kenya Wine Agencies Limited


Kenya Wine Agencies Limited, is a Kenyan manufacturer, importer and distributor of wine and spirits.

Overview

KWAL is a wine manufacturer, distiller, importer and distributor of alcoholic beverages, headquartered in Nairobi, with a distribution network throughout Kenya's urban centres. The company has an established countrywide branch network and is repositioning itself to grow the market in line with its renewed vision of being the preferred provider of Quality beverages in Eastern Africa and beyond.

History

The company was founded in 1969 by the Government of Kenya, to consolidate and streamline the importation and distribution of wine and spirits in the country. The agency opened its first wholly owned winery in 1982. Initially, KWAL enjoyed a monopoly, which was broken when the country's economy was liberalized. In the beginning, KWAL was a 100% parastatal, owned through the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation. In 2014, the process of divestiture by the government was kick-started when 26% shareholding was sold to the South African multinational conglomerate Distell Group Limited. As of 2017, Distell Group Limited now owns a majority share in KWAL, having acquired an additional 26% stake from the Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation.

Ownership

, the shares of stock of the company are as listed in the table below:
RankName of OwnerPercentage Ownership
1Distell Group Limited55.37
2ICDC43.77
3Other0.86
Total100.00

Corporate structure

The company is owned by KWA Holdings E.A. Limited.

Recent developments

Beginning in February 2015, the Government of Kenya began the process of selling 4% ownership to the estimated 235 company employees at the time at a price of KSh34 per share. The process is expected to conclude in April or May 2015. ICDC still has a 42.65 stake to dispose of.