Centum has put Sidian on the market with intention of selling it to a willing buyer;


"Last month, Sidian Bank chief executive Chege Thumbi said the lower-tier lender was open for merger talks, joining the list of lenders mulling similar deals."
Mr Thumbi said the bank has been having informal discussions with other lenders even though he declined to reveal the names.

“As and when discussions progress to a level where we are confident to announce anything, we will come back to you. A lot of conversations do happen once in a while and until it matures, we can’t give details,” he said.

“We are very open for merger with other banks and also opportunities of acquisition of other banks --- I am sure everyone in the market is looking at how to get bigger, better more efficient and create stronger banks.”

https://www.businessdail...084124-pb6axg/index.html

I remain bullish on Centum based on the discount to BV even after I deduct:
Sidian's over-valuation (from 1.4x BV to 1.0x BV)
Akira
Amu
TRDL valuation reduction given the state of real estate
TRLC valuation reduction given the state of malls and offices
Other not-so-great businesses

If Centum gets a good price for a "valuable" business, it is not a bad idea to sell the business and reduce debt.

Reduce debt, reduce the need to generate cash to make loan payments.

New vehicle sales drop 14.5pc in first quarter
https://www.businessdail...6596-vlxd0xz/index.html

Most, including Toyota Kenya and Simba Corporation, recorded significant sales decline. Isuzu East Africa was the only major dealer to register higher sales.
Unit sales at Isuzu rose to 1,019 from 891 while those of Toyota fell to 672 from 812. Simba Corp’s sales also dropped to 487 from 514.