The Merali family is venturing into glass manufacturing by acquiring a 50 percent stake in a proposed Sh330.36 million pharmaceutical glass bottle plant at the Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone (SEZ), as it seeks to revive its fortunes in manufacturing.
The Meralis own a 50 percent stake in Milly Glass Works Limited, whose affiliate, Milly SEZ Limited, will build the plant on six hectares within the Dongo Kundu SEZ in Mombasa County, according to information from the Business Registration Service (BRS).
The facility is expected to produce 290,000 tonnes of glass bottles annually. Milly Glass Works Limited, which has long been associated with the family of Mombasa businessman and former Kanu-nominated MP Rashid Sajjad, also fully owns Milly SEZ Limited.
However, a search at the BRS shows that the Meralis also have a shareholding in the glass manufacturer through their investment vehicle Zaigham Investments Limited.
Zaigham Investments owns a 50 percent stake in Milly SEZ Limited, giving the Merali family an indirect 50 percent equity interest in the proposed glass-making plant.
Information from the registrar of companies shows that Sameer Telkom Limited owns a 99.9 percent stake in Zaigham Investments Limited, while Sameer Group Chief Executive Sameer Naushad Merali, the son of the late Naushad Merali, owns one ordinary share in Sameer Telkom Limited.
Naushad Merali, the founder of Sameer Group who died in July 2021, was in 2015 ranked by Forbes as the third richest man in Kenya and 48th in Africa with a net worth of $370 million. His heirs, including the son Sameer, have continued to play important roles in managing the family empire.
The Merali family has interests mainly in real estate, agriculture, building and construction, transport, energy and power, industrial parks, telecommunications and insurance through companies like Sameer Africa which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Merali made his wealth by first purchasing unprofitable companies and turning them around in his formative days as an investor. He would then exit at a profit -sometimes attracting criticism when the new buyers failed to profit from the deal.
In recent years, he divested from ICT firms including Swift Global, Kenya Data Networks, KenCell and Equatorial Commercial Bank -raking in billions of shillings in the process.
The family exited its tyre manufacturing business due to high production costs and stiff competition from cheaper imports from China and India. However, the family appears to be warming up to the manufacturing sector.
Milly Glass SEZ says the expansion into specialised glass packaging reflects the rising demand for high-quality packaging within the pharmaceutical sector in East and Central Africa, where local manufacturing capacity remains relatively limited.
The Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) report shows the project will leverage advantages such as proximity to the Port of Mombasa, the Standard Gauge Railway and Moi International Airport, and a growing road network, making it ideal for an export-oriented manufacturing model.
‘The project proponent proposed the development facility based on market analysis of demand growth of pharmaceutical glass bottles and the opportunity to construct a new facility that will strengthen their existing glass bottle manufacturing facility in Mombasa,’ reads the ESIA report.
The firm explained that the proposed plant would produce type III glass amber-coloured pharmaceutical glass bottles, which are used for storing, protecting, and transporting the medicine.
The bottles are used for liquids, tablets, capsules, vaccines, and parenteral (injectable) preparations.