Overview

Longhorn Publishers PLC is a Pan-African publishing house that is publicly listed in the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The company has grown its dominance in the publishing sector by establishing its presence throughout the region. In the East African region, the company has fully incorporated subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Zambia. Through distributor agreements, the company has been able to expand its operations across the African continent to include Malawi, Zambia, South Sudan, and Senegal.

History

Longhorn Publishers Plc operations commenced in Kenya in May 1965 as Longmans of Kenya a wholly owned subsidiary of Longman Group International of the

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. Its main business was selling and promotion of Longman publications published in the UK. In December 1969, the company changed the name to Longman Kenya Limited. It was only until the 1970s when the company began printing locally. A government decision in the early 1990s led to the ban of importation of textbooks. This initiative led to reduced margins thus led to Longman gradually reducing its shareholding in the business due to unattractive returns. In 1993, Longman UK fully divested from the company when it sold its remaining 40% shareholding to Kenyan investors including

Centum Investment Company Centum Investment Company Plc, commonly known as Centum is a public East African investment company. It operates as an affiliate of the Kenyan government-owned Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC). Overview Centum is a pu ...

. As a result of this divestiture, the company changed its name to Longhorn Kenya Limited. In October 1995, Longhorn incorporated ''Longhorn Publishers Uganda'' as its first foreign subsidiary in Uganda. It later incorporated Longhorn Publishers Tanzania Limited in May 2005. As a sales and promotions outfit for products developed by Longhorn Kenya. Longhorn entered the Rwanda and Malawi markets in 2009 through agents. Longhorn shares were listed on the NSE on 30 May 2012 through Introduction. This made it the only first publishing firm to go public in an industry valued at KES 12 billion in Kenya alone. In March 2015, The group announced its intention to re-brand Longhorn Kenya to Longhorn Publishers to give it a regional look before proceeding to cross-list its share on the

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territor ...

and the

Rwanda Stock Exchange The Rwanda Stock Exchange Limited was incorporated on 7 October 2005 with the objective of carrying out stock market operations. The Stock Exchange was demutualized from the start as it was registered as a company limited by shares. The company ...

Subsidiaries and Investments

The companies that comprise Longhorn include the following: # Longhorn Publishers Plc –

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city proper ha ...

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- 100% Shareholding - The flagship company of the group. Offering

Publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, sales and promotions. # Longhorn Publishers Uganda –

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,680,000 and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division, and Ruba ...

- 100% Shareholding - Offering sales and promotions in Uganda. # Longhorn Publishers Tanzania -

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

- 100% Shareholding - Offering sales and promotions in Tanzania.

Ownership

The shares of Longhorn Publishers Plc are traded on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, under the symbol: LKL. The shareholding in the company's stock as at June 30, 2016 was as depicted in the table below:

Governance

The running is overseen by a nine-person board with Francis Thombe Nyammo as the group chairman and Maxwell Wahome as the group managing director.

References

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External links

Longhorn Home Page

Rich Management
Companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange Companies based in Nairobi Publishing companies established in 1965 Kenyan companies established in 1965