MKU places Sh280m fire-sale bid for Inoorero tower

Politics and policy

The International University of Professional Studies, formerly Inoorero, campus building in Nairobi which has been put up for auction by a creditor. PHOTO | FILE 

By ALLAN ODHIAMBO and SIMON CIURI

Posted  Wednesday, July 30   2014 at  21:54

In Summary

• Mount Kenya University (MKU) has offered to pay Sh280 million for the building that sits on a 0.09 hectare parcel of land in Nairobi’s Parklands area.
• But a distressed International University of Professional Studies is seeking Sh380 million.
• MKU officials confirmed that they had placed a bid for the campus property, saying the acquisition would support the institution’s ongoing expansion strategy.

Mount Kenya University (MKU) has placed a fire-sale bid to buy rival Inoorero University’s eight-storey campus building, which a creditor put up for auction on Monday.

People familiar with the matter said MKU has offered to pay Sh280 million for the building that sits on a 0.09 hectare parcel of land in Nairobi’s Parklands area against a price of Sh380 million set by its present owners.

The creditor said in a public notice that it would auction the property belonging to Inoorero, now known as International University of Professional Studies (IUPS), on August 15 citing IUPS’ failure to service a multi-million-shilling loan it took from a bank about five years ago.

Owners of IUPS on Wednesday confirmed that MKU had offered to buy the building but maintained that the matter was in the early stages of discussion.

“There is an offer for a purchase but let’s not get into that because it’s too early to do so. Matters are still fluid and I may not have something concrete to say at this stage,” Francis Nyammo, the proprietor and chancellor of the college, said.

MKU officials confirmed that they had placed a fire-sale bid for the campus property, saying the acquisition would support the institution’s ongoing expansion strategy.

“We have made a formal bid for a possible purchase of the building and hope to close the transaction soon,” said Simon Gicharu, the MKU founder and chairman,

The two institutions are hoping to seal the deal ahead of the auction date to avoid disruption of learning programmes.

Mr Nyammo also revealed that the sale deal would include a clause allowing current students to continue their studies to completion.

“No student will be sent away despite the sale plan. They will be allowed to go the full stretch in their studies and graduate,” Mr Nyammo said but declined to provide details on how that will be done.

READ: Inoorero university’s prime building set for auction

Mr Gicharu also declined to discuss the fate of students currently enrolled with IUPS.

“We have not reached a point of discussing whether we will absorb the students. Our present engagement is mainly on the intended acquisition of the building and it is our hope that other matters will come up for discussion once the takeover is complete,” he said.

The Commission for University Education (CUE) Wednesday said it had not been formally briefed on the intended sale of the IUPS campus building but promised to safeguard the interests of students.

“We have not received any formal communication from International University of Professional Studies but when it comes we shall demand clarification on the fate of continuing students because that would be within our mandate as a commission. The rest of the issues such as the sale plans are personal to them,” Henry Thairu, the CUE chairman, said.

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