IFC backs Quickmart IPO with Sh1.9bn investor commitment

Quickmart, Kenya’s second-largest supermarket chain. [File, Standard]

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank’s private-sector investment arm, has moved early to lock in a cornerstone stake in home-grown Kenyan retailer Quickmart, committing approximately Sh1.94 billion ($15 million) to the company’s initial public offering as the share sale opened on Monday.

The IFC’s conditional commitment, disclosed in the public announcement, represents roughly 13 per cent of the total offer and would give the Washington-based development financier about 6.5 per cent of Quickmart’s outstanding share capital after listing. The participation remains subject to approval by the IFC’s board of directors.

The early move by the IFC signals institutional confidence in a listing that values Quickmart, Kenya’s second-largest supermarket chain, at Sh30 billion, with the offer price set at Sh7.50 per share for 2 billion existing ordinary shares.

Quickmart, founded in Nakuru in 2006 by the late John Kinuthia, merged with Tumaini, a chain started in Nairobi’s Eastlands the same year, in 2020 to become one of Kenya’s leading formal retailers. It now operates 72 stores across 16 counties, including 35 outlets open 24 hours a day.

According to the public announcement, Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited (SRKL), the investment vehicle through which the current owners hold their stake in Quickmart, is selling the two billion shares, representing 50 per cent of Quickmart’s issued share capital, by way of an offer for sale. Quickmart itself will not issue new shares and will receive no proceeds from the transaction.

“The Offer is conditional upon valid Applications being received and accepted in respect of not less than 75 per cent of the Offer Shares (being 1,500,000,000 Offer Shares) by the Offer Closing Date,” the announcement states. If the minimum subscription condition is not satisfied, the offer will not proceed and all application monies will be refunded without interest.

The selling shareholder is subject to a 24-month lock-up on 60 per cent of its post-offer shareholding, according to the notice. A lock-up restricts the seller from offloading the remaining shares immediately after listing, a standard safeguard for new investors.

The offer opened yesterday (October 5) and will close on October 30. Retail investors must pay for their applications by the closing date.

The announcement of offer results and notification of allocation is scheduled for November 6, with payment for qualified institutional investors on November 10. Allotment and crediting of CDS accounts, the Central Depository and Settlement Corporation system that holds shares electronically, is set for November 11, with trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), Kenya’s main stock market, commencing on November 12.

Retail investors can participate from as little as Sh3,750, representing the minimum application of 500 shares at the offer price of Sh7.50 per share. Applications must be in multiples of 100 shares thereafter, with no maximum application limit specified.

The allocation breakdown assigns 20 per cent of the offer to Kenyan retail investors, 35 per cent to Kenyan institutions, 12 per cent to East African Community investors, 20 per cent to foreign investors, and 13 per cent to the IFC as cornerstone investor.

The listing marks Kenya’s first major supermarket IPO since Uchumi Supermarkets listed in 1992. Uchumi later collapsed, while Nakumatt and Tuskys also failed, shattering confidence in Kenya’s formal retail sector.

Quickmart reported revenue of Sh50.4 billion and adjusted profit after tax of Sh1.7 billion for the year that ended on December 31, 2025. Revenue grew at an average annual rate of 18.4 per cent between the 2021 and 2025 financial years.

For the first half of 2026, revenue was Sh27.3 billion.

Following the listing, Quickmart’s board intends to target a dividend payout ratio of at least 80 per cent of annual profit after tax, paid semi-annually. The first payment covering the second half of 2026 is expected in the first half of 2027.

Peter Kang’iri, Group chief executive officer of Quickmart, said the listing would give Kenyans the opportunity to own a share of a business they already shop in.

“Listing on the NSE will give Kenyans the opportunity to own a share of a business they already shop in, while raising our profile with suppliers and partners as we continue to deliver on our growth strategy,” Kang’iri said.

Martha Osier, Partner at Adenia Partners, said: “The proposed Listing represents a natural next step in that journey. It will broaden ownership of the Company, introduce a public free float and enable Kenyan and other eligible investors to participate in Quickmart’s future growth. The existing shareholder group intends to retain a substantial interest in the Company following the Offer, reflecting our continued confidence in the Company and its long-term prospects.”

The IFC’s participation is “solely as a commercial investor” and “does not imply any sovereign, governmental, or institutional backing, guarantee, or credit support,” the announcement states. The IFC has not verified and accepts no responsibility for the accuracy of information in the announcement or the information memorandum.

The listing represents a partial exit for Adenia Partners, the Mauritius-based private equity firm that invested in Tumaini in 2018 and Quickmart in 2019 before merging the two chains in 2020. Adenia is a private equity firm, a fund that invests in private companies to eventually sell its stake at a profit.

It would make Adenia the first private equity fund to exit a Kenyan company via a listing on a securities exchange.

Quickmart faces familiar risks, according to its own statement, noting it operates only in Kenya and is exposed to inflation, currency depreciation, political instability and changes in consumer spending. Competition is intense, all its stores are leased, and its distribution model depends on a reliable supplier base.

Analysts said investors will ask whether Quickmart can avoid the mistakes that felled its predecessors, sustain growth and dividends, and create a liquid market for its shares.

A successful listing would give Kenyans a slice of a business they already shop in. A failed or poorly received offer would deepen skepticism about the sector.