Court halts East African Cables administration
By Francis Muli, June 20, 2023
East African Cables PLC has obtained a court injunction in regard to an administration notice dated June 16, 2023, issued by Equity Bank to appoint an administrator.
The injunction was issued on the basis that the bank appointed an administrator while the parties were engaged in negotiations.
“I am glad that the brief setback that this unfortunate action had brought to the business is behind us and we can now focus on what we do best, providing quality cables to our customers across the region,” said Dr M G Waweru.
“We have been on what we viewed as positive discussions with the bank up until a day before the appointment of the administrator, therefore the extreme and unfortunate action taken by the bank came to us as a surprise. EAC is a renowned and astute business and we’ve been committed to meeting our obligations and continue to do so despite the prevailing challenging macro environment.”
The injunction puts a stop to the appointment of the administrator and restrains them or their agents from performing any actions in the capacity of administrator of the company.
“East African Cables is the undisputed number one cable brand in the region, we have built an admired brand that is powering nearly all homesteads, factories, streets in this country and beyond. We are delighted to resume serving our customers in every corner of our country,” East African Cables CEO Paul Muigai added.
East African Cables debt
East African Cables, a subsidiary of Transcentury, was placed under administration courtesy of a $34.3 million (Ksh4.8 billion) debt owed to the Equity Bank by the parent company.
The lender had placed Transcentury Group and its subsidiary East Africa Cables Ltd under administration and receivership respectively, after what appeared to be a disagreement on the modalities of settling the debts. East Africa Cables owes TransCentury Ksh1.9 billion.