Kenya’s national carrier Kenya Airways has appointed two financial firms to join its transaction team that will steer its planned rights issue later this year. In a statement released on Monday, the company said Crested Stock and Securities Limited will be the lead sponsoring broker in Uganda while Orbit Securities Co. Ltd will handle the transaction in a similar capacity in Tanzania. The statement said the two will join Standard Investment Bank, the lead sponsoring broker in Kenya. Company officials said the funds raised would be used to finance fleet expansion, including buying 10 new Embraer E-190 aircraft, which will mainly serve African routes.Under its ten-year growth plan, Kenya Airways plans to increase the number of aircraft from the current 34 to 107 by 2020 while raising the number of destinations to 115 from the current 56. It also plans to have 12 cargo freighters by 2022.
