Browns Investments set to get control of over 27,000 acres of tea plantation in Kenya following Finlays deal

Following the acquisition of James Finlay Kenya Limited (JFK), Browns Investments PLC is set to get the control of over 27,000 acres of tea planation, along with timber reserves in Kenya, the world’s largest black tea exporter.
“JFK’s assets include eleven-thousand-hectare tea plantation, which produces 30 million kilograms of high-quality tea annually and a commercial timber reserve comprising of primarily Eucalyptus grandis trees,” Browns Investments said in a stock market filing yesterday.
Last week, James Finlay, a Scottish registered company, said it had come to an agreement to sell an 85 percent stake of James Finlay Kenya tea estate business to Sri Lanka’s Browns Investments PLC.
According to yesterday’s stock market filing by Browns Investments, the agreement had been entered into between B Commodities ME FZE UAE, which is a subsidiary of Browns Investments and James Finlay Limited.
As part of the sale agreement, Browns and Finlays had mutually agreed to acknowledge the long-standing support of the local community by selling 15 percent of shares in James Finlay Kenya to a locally-owned co-operative. 
Although the deal size was not mentioned in the filing, it said the purchase would be carried out “for a consideration calculated in accordance with the provisions of the sale and purchase agreement”.“Completion of the sale is conditional upon clearance from COMSEA (Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) and pre-completion restructuring to transfer a tea extracts facility to another member of the seller’s group,” it added.Browns Investments, a unit of LOLC Group, is one of the largest made tea producing companies in Sri Lanka, having under its management a total of 49 plantations through Maturata Plantations Limited, Udupussellawa Plantations PLC and Hapugastenna Plantations PLC. The company produces approximately 12 million kilograms of made tea annually.In December 2021, Browns Investments acquired Finlays’ Sri Lankan tea estate business.