Matatu IPO

There was a small advert in the Nation this week for a private placement to raise Kshs 600 million ($7.5 million) as investments in the public service vehicle (PSV) transport business.

The promoters, PSV Investments, say they have already investment in PSV’s commonly known as matatu’s through transport companies, savings & credit societies (SACCO’s), and individual owners. They are selling 6 million shares at 100 shillings each, with a minimum investment of 5,000 (~$62) for individuals and 100,000 (~$1,250) for institutions, and the Vice Chairman is Dickson Mbugua who’s often on TV defending the Matatu Industry as an official and a spokesman. It opened on May 17 and closes on July 3.

The PSV business is one which has had difficulty getting organized investments because if the poor reputation of the business. This is because of the reckless driving habits of drivers, gangs involved in management, insurance claims & losses.

(this matatu ran me off the road this morning, and I had to drive on the pavement to avoid an accident)

Nevertheless matatu owners are able to obtain loans from some banks but who limit their exposure by financing less than they would for an individual e.g. where a bank may finance 80% or higher of a vehicle cost, for a matatu that’s only about 50% with the owner paying the different. In some cases they also shorten the repayment cycle to weekly installments, instead of monthly, to prevent diversion mismanagement of cash as a matatu generates (and spends) most of is cash on a daily basis.

SACCO’s have a reputation for running the best matatu business, and listed transport company, Express Kenya, has also invested in the PSV business via KBS and Citi Hoppa, as detailed at last year’s invested in PSV business, as discussed at their 2009 AGM.

Private placements are riskier in terms of entry and exit, and I’m dealing with two unique placement cases now: one with an investor who wants to exit from a minority shareholding, but at a greater price than the majority shareholder will pay and another placement in which the promoters have been incommunicado for six months after urging investors to buy into a company. It’s not clear if the CMA is aware of this or if there is a transaction advisor or prospectus for the company.

Motoring moment: asset finance personified

nice poster here from Lunch over IP on urban transport solutions

The traffic crunch in Nairobi has gotten worse in the last week since 1/3 of the city’s commuters had restrictions placed on their access to downtown Nairobi.

It’s fait to say that over ¾ of cars from KAP___ onwards (cars registered in the last five years) are financed with asset or bank loans - so they are a reflection of the amount of credit in the economy.

But the traffic crunch will continue unless some serious measures are taken as there are few new roads or new parking spaces coming up in the city

What are some solutions?
- Better public transport as the image above shows.
- Restriction on vehicle imports/registrations; But bad for the economy, encourage corruption
- Restrictions on asset finance lending; but bad for banks
- Restrictions on vehicle use e.g. only use vehicles ending with odd number on one day, even the next: but favors the rich (with more than one car) and will encourage fraudulent license switching
- The India way (as adopted by Uganda) and small town in Kenya which is to have motorbikes as taxis. This would be great for those who work in the upper hill area
- Car pooling, temporary parking meters, new capital city? The list is endless