Uganda power firm Umeme Limited said Tuesday it had suspended trade in its shares on the Nairobi and Kampala bourses pending sale of a major stake by a key shareholder.

Umeme Holdings Limited, which owns 60.08 per cent of the utility firm, plans to sell a significant stake of its shareholding via private placement, Umeme said in a statement.

The shares will remain suspended from trade for a maximum period of two weeks, starting Tuesday, on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) and the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) after Umeme received regulatory approval.

The utility is cross-listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, where it has 1.62 billion issued shares.

Umeme did not give details about the private placement.

Umeme Holdings is a subsidiary of London-based private equity firm Actis.

Umeme's shares closed at Ush360 ($0.14) on Monday on the USE (Ksh13 on the NSE).