Overview:
AKFED announces the sale of its controlling interest in Nation Media Group to Tanzanian firm Taarifa Ltd, signaling a major shift for East Africa's media landscape.
GENEVA— The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development has announced it will sell its entire shareholding in the parent company of Nation Media Group, ending a partnership with the East African media giant that has lasted more than 60 years.
The fund, known as AKFED, confirmed Tuesday that it has reached an agreement to sell its 100 percent stake in NPRT Holdings Africa Limited to Taarifa Ltd.
Because NPRT holds a 54.08 percent stake in Nation Media Group (NMG), the deal effectively hands majority control of the Nairobi-listed company to Taarifa Ltd.
A regional powerhouse
The move marks the end of a 66-year association that began in 1959. What started as a single Kiswahili-language newspaper, Taifa Leo, has since evolved into a multi-platform conglomerate.
Today, NMG operates more than 30 brands across four countries, reaching an estimated 62 million digital users and employing more than 1,000 people.
Sultan Allana, a director at AKFED, said the fund was proud of its role in building one of the continent’s “most respected media institutions.”
“We are confident NMG will continue to uphold the values of independent journalism and service to the public that have defined it for over six decades,” Allana said.
Digital future
The incoming owners, Taarifa Ltd., said they are committed to accelerating the group’s digital transformation.
NMG has been a fixture of the Kenyan media landscape since the first issue of the Daily Nation was published in March 1960, shortly before the country gained independence. It later became one of the first media houses in Africa to list on a stock exchange, joining the Nairobi Securities Exchange in 1973.
The transaction is expected to enable the group to strengthen its digital growth and maintain its tradition of public interest journalism in a rapidly changing media market.