South Africa’s Nedbank Group has completed the purchase of a 66 per cent controlling interest in NCBA Group Plc, valuing the transaction at roughly KSh110 billion.

The acquisition, announced on October 19 after all required regulatory approvals were secured, makes NCBA a subsidiary of the Johannesburg-listed lender while the bank retains its brand, Nairobi headquarters, local leadership and listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, with the public continuing to hold the remaining 34 per cent.

Tendering shareholders offered 1.316 billion NCBA shares, equivalent to 79.9 per cent of the issued capital, but the excess was reduced on a pro-rata basis so that Nedbank’s final holding equals about 66 per cent.

Under the offer, 80 per cent of the consideration is paid in newly issued Nedbank shares and the balance 20 per cent in cash, amounting to KSh105 per NCBA share, roughly 1.4 times book value and a premium of about 17 per cent to the pre-announcement price.

NCBA shares will be suspended from around close of business on October 21 until November 2 to allow the share register to be reconciled, after which a block trade on the NSE is scheduled for November 3 and settlement will begin the same day.

“The name is the same, the people are the same, but the ambition and capabilities are tremendously magnified,” said NCBA Group managing director and chief executive John Gachora.

Nedbank chief executive Jason Quinn called the deal a “decisive step forward” in the group’s African growth strategy, adding that linking the two strong banking platforms creates new opportunities for clients and shareholders across the continent.

NCBA reported a net profit of KSh23.4 billion for the year ended December 2025, a 7 per cent increase on the previous year, with total assets rising 8 per cent to KSh716 billion and customer deposits up 6 per cent to KSh532 billion.

The lender’s digital lending portfolio disbursed KSh1.4 trillion in 2025, a 33 per cent rise, and contributed 32 per cent of group profitability; its asset-finance business has maintained a market share of more than 30 per cent since 2020.

NCBA serves more than 60 million customers through 122 branches in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ivory Coast and Ghana, and its digital lending products are operated in partnership with Safaricom.

Nedbank operates across Southern Africa, including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini, and maintains offshore centres in London, Dubai, the Isle of Man and Jersey, giving it an established platform to expand into East Africa without building a network from scratch.

Approvals were granted by Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority on February 19, the Central Bank of Kenya in early September, the South African Reserve Bank’s Prudential Authority, the National Bank of Rwanda, the Bank of Tanzania and competition regulators in COMESA, the East African Community, Tanzania and ECOWAS.

The transaction provides NCBA with access to Nedbank’s larger capital base, regional expertise and cross-border funding capacity, potentially supporting bigger corporate deals and regional expansion.