Kenyatta, Ndegwa dynasties cash out as Nedbank completes Sh109.6 billion NCBA takeover

 

When NCBA Group Chairman Isaac Awuondo (right) with Group Managing Director John Gachora unveiled the lender's new logo. [File, Standard]

South Africa's Nedbank Group has completed its Sh109.6 billion takeover of Kenya's NCBA Group, marking the end of an era for one of East Africa's most prominent banking institutions and triggering a multibillion-shilling payout to the Kenyatta and Ndegwa families.

Nedbank said in a statement on Monday evening that all conditions for its offer to acquire a 66 per cent controlling stake in NCBA had been met, officially making the Kenyan homegrown lender a subsidiary of the Johannesburg-listed bank.

Shareholders, including the Kenyatta and Ndegwa families, will have to wait a few weeks for their money. The official settlement date is Wednesday, October 21. However, actual payment of cash and handover of Nedbank shares will only begin nine trading days later, on or about Tuesday, Nov. 3rd this year (next month).

Trading in NCBA shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange will be suspended from the close of business on October 21st until November 2nd to allow the share register to be reconciled. The transfer of shares to Nedbank will take place on November 3rd. 

Following the final count, Nedbank will hold 1,087,362,891 NCBA shares, representing exactly 66 per cent of the lender. The remaining 34 per cent, or 560,156,641 shares, will stay with the public and continue to trade on the Nairobi bourse.

NCBA moved early to reassure customers and employees that "business will continue as usual." 

The lender said it will keep its trusted brand, local leadership, Nairobi headquarters and customer-facing operations. Products, services, relationship teams, branches and digital channels remain unchanged.

"The name is the same, the people are the same, but the ambition and capabilities are tremendously magnified," NCBA Group Managing Director John Gachora said in a statement. 

Nedbank Chief Executive Jason Quinn said the deal "establishes a significant presence for Nedbank in East Africa" and connects "two strong banking platforms across Southern and East Africa."

The completion delivers a windfall for Kenya's two most prominent banking families. The Kenyatta family, through Enke Investments and direct holdings by Muhoho Kenyatta, and the Ndegwa family, through First Chartered Securities, are cashing out most of their stakes in exchange for a mix of Nedbank shares and cash. Both families will keep minority stakes in the newly structured NCBA.

The deal had earlier received approval from the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) following clearances from other regulators in South Africa, Tanzania, Rwanda and the COMESA competition authorities.

For Nedbank, the acquisition provides immediate scale in East Africa through NCBA's 122 branches across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Ivory Coast, serving over 60 million customers. For NCBA, the backing of a larger balance sheet is expected to support regional expansion and more sophisticated product offerings.