• Nedbank submitted an offer to acquire about 66% of Kenya’s NCBA Group for $855 million as part of its East Africa expansion.

• The deal will give Nedbank access to more than 60 million customers across four East African countries.

• The transaction will combine cash and shares and leave NCBA listed and operationally independent in Kenya.

South Africa’s Nedbank Group announced on Wednesday, January 21, that it had submitted an offer to acquire about 66% of Kenya’s NCBA Group for approximately 13.9 billion rand, or about $855 million. The bank framed the bid as part of its strategy to expand its footprint in East Africa.

Nedbank said it would settle the transaction through a mix of 20% cash and 80% newly issued Nedbank ordinary shares listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

Once the transaction reaches completion, NCBA Group will operate as a subsidiary of Nedbank. Meanwhile, the remaining 34% of NCBA’s share capital will continue to trade publicly on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

NCBA Group will also retain its brand and local management team. Nedbank will not pursue operational integration in Kenya, where it currently operates only a representative office.

Nedbank announced in August 2025 that it had sold its 21.22% stake in pan-African banking group Ecobank. The lender said the divestment would allow it to concentrate resources on priority markets in Southern and East Africa.

The planned acquisition of a majority stake in NCBA Group therefore represents a key milestone in Nedbank’s East Africa growth strategy.

“By combining NCBA’s strong local presence with Nedbank’s financial strength, expertise, and long-term commitment to Africa, we see the emergence of an attractive platform for sustainable growth in the region,” Nedbank Chief Executive Jason Quinn said.

Nedbank currently operates subsidiaries in five Southern African countries, namely Namibia, Eswatini, Mozambique, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. The group said it viewed East Africa as “a region of major strategic importance,” citing “solid macroeconomic fundamentals, a large and growing population, attractive growth prospects, and the region’s role as a trade corridor linking Africa to the Middle East, India, and Asia.”

NCBA Group ranks as Kenya’s third-largest banking group by number of customers, with more than 60 million clients, and by branch network, with 122 outlets. The group emerged from the 2019 merger between NIC Group and Commercial Bank of Africa and operates subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda. NCBA also provides digital banking services in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.

This article was initially published in French by Walid Kéfi

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum