Merali’s swift exit from Zain earns him billions

Naushad Merali reaps Sh4 billion from sale of 15 per cent shareholding just in time before a revaluation impairs it.

Businessman Naushad Merali’s decision to significantly reduce his stake in telecoms firm Zain Kenya last year was yet another of the many sumptuous investment hat tricks he has pulled among local an d foreign business partners in the past 10 years, it has now emerged.

Shortly after Mr Merali’s stealth exit, Zain Kenya, the telecoms service provider which is now 95 per cent owned by Kuwait-based Zain Group, became the subject of a major asset impairment that cut back the firm’s valuation by more than Sh5 billion...Business Daily

Lakini... bottomline... he is a crook

maybe @VVS happened to buy sameer shares at 40bob when it had that two week jump a couple of years back... no offence @VVS

Yap...you can never go wrong with a merali. I also reaped!!! alot from sameer.By the way i read that Naushad has already bagged 2B for gvt use of sameer park even before completion! LOL! talk about our own Warren Buffet

but this guy fronts for you-know-who

Has bagged consideration for rent from the Gvt who are to rent the park for bussiness oursourcing-I hear so from sameers annual GM last friday. Where else apart sameer and sasini does Merali have his foot bigtime in NSE?so that I can tread carefully!?

don't hate the player, hate the game

Jameni: Seriously, u guys act like thieving is OK as long as you are not caught...

Sameer aka Firestone: merali used his moi connections (I am sure moi got a cut or owns part of the 'parent') to buy Firestone shareholding from ICDC (not ICDCIC) at 5/- then turned around & sold the shares at 35.50. One of the major buyers? NSSF (then completely controlled by GoK). In a non-corrupt Kenya, ICDC could have sold the shares DIRECTLY to wananchi.

Eveready: Something similar to Firestone but less egregious. Lakini, in this case, the wananchi should have read the prospectus. At least GoK did not lose much here.

KenCell: merali was the favored 'local' partner to Vivendi. There were only 2 licenses given. Safaricom was KPTC. The other to KenCell. moi & his cronies had shares in both firms. Mobitelea (Safaricom) + merali (KenCell). Vivendi paid the $55mn (not merali) for the license. It was not an auction i.e. the highest bidder wins.

Comparing Merali to Buffett is comparing apples to oranges. Buffett has built his wealth purely on the strength of his investing acumen not through making deals with government and politicians.
Merali has thrived in our third world environment. At least he is building businesses and employing many people and paying taxes.
But I have to say the Eveready IPO was a killer for the public. The company was overpriced in the IPO. So be careful what u buy especially when the IPO hype is feverish. That's when SHELL businesses are SOLD to an unscrupulous public.

http://www.rich.co.ke/me...%20profit%20warning.pdf

Sameer Africa expects reduced profits in 2010...