South Africa's Nedbank Group has completed the purchase of a 66 per cent controlling stake in Kenya's NCBA Group Plc in a transaction valued at about KSh110 billion.
The deal, announced after regulatory clearances, values the acquisition at roughly 13.9 billion South African rand, with 80 per cent of the consideration paid in newly issued Nedbank shares and the remaining 20 per cent in cash.
The offer price of KSh105 per NCBA share represents a premium of about 17 per cent to the pre-announcement price and equates to roughly 1.4 times book value.
Shareholders tendered 1.316 billion NCBA shares, or 79.9 per cent of the issued capital, and the excess applications were reduced pro-rata so that Nedbank will hold exactly 1,087,362,891 shares, representing 66 per cent of the bank.
The remaining 34 per cent, or 560,156,641 shares, will stay with public investors and continue to trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
NCBA shares will be suspended from trading at the close of business on October 21 and will resume on November 2 to allow the share register to be reconciled before the block trade on November 3 transfers the shares to Nedbank.
NCBA will retain its brand, Nairobi headquarters, local leadership and existing products, branches and digital channels, and the lender said business will continue as usual.
NCBA Group Managing Director John Gachora said the name and people remain the same but the ambition and capabilities are “tremendously magnified”.
Nedbank Chief Executive Jason Quinn said the transaction establishes a significant presence for Nedbank in East Africa and connects two strong banking platforms across Southern and East Africa.
The acquisition gives Nedbank an established platform of 122 NCBA branches serving more than 60 million customers in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ivory Coast and Ghana.
NCBA’s recent financial results show a net profit of KSh23.4 billion for the year ended December 2025, assets of KSh716 billion, deposits of KSh532 billion and operating income of KSh73.3 billion.
The lender’s digital lending portfolio disbursed KSh1.4 trillion in 2025, accounting for 32 per cent of group profitability, while its asset-finance business holds more than 30 per cent market share since 2020.
The deal also provides cash-and-share proceeds to families such as the Kenyatta and Ndegwa groups, who will receive a mix of Nedbank shares and cash for the majority of their stakes.
Regulatory approvals were obtained from the Central Bank of Kenya, the South African Reserve Bank, the capital markets authorities in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and competition bodies in COMESA, the East African Community and ECOWAS.
Nedbank’s broader strategy aims to expand its African footprint beyond its Southern African operations in Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Eswatini.
