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 United Kingdom. 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. As a result of this divestiture, the company changed its name to Longhorn Kenya Limited.[1]
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.