Absa Group KSh 30.91Bn Tender Offer for Absa Kenya Shares

Johannesburg-based Absa Group Limited has offered KSh 30.91Bn (US$238.74Mn) to acquire up to 895,989,600 additional ordinary shares in Absa Bank Kenya PLC.

• •The offer would lift its stake in the lender from 68.5% to as much as 85% and close the gap between the full consolidated risk Absa already carries on the unit and the share of earnings it currently captures, the company said in a public announcement.
• •The Tender Price is set at KSh 34.50 per share, a premium of 20.0%, 18.9%, and 28.2% to the 30, 90, and 180-day volume-weighted average prices respectively, and 18.1% above the closing volume-weighted average price on 17 June 2026.
• •Absa Bank Kenya shares hit an all-time high of KSh 33 before closing at KSh 29.40 on 18 June 2026, the day the notice was issued.

At that offer price, the offer values Absa Bank Kenya at an implied 8.2 times trailing earnings for the year ended 31 December 2025. Absa Group currently holds 3,720,816,000 ordinary shares in the bank, and full acceptance would take its position to 4,616,805,600 shares.

Absa Group is not pursuing a full mandatory take-over and has applied to the Capital Markets Authority for exemption from that requirement, framing the additional purchase as a long-term strategic investment rather than a move to delist or restructure the bank. It intends to keep Absa Bank Kenya listed on the NSE and preserve public float and the existing governance structure.

Charles Russon, who heads Absa's Africa portfolio, said in January that Absa was not "set up appropriately" in Kenya, where it holds a majority but not full stake while carrying the full consolidated risk on its balance sheet. Group CEO Kenny Fihla visited Kenya in early February to scout acquisition opportunities for growing the bank's retail footprint, with any deal expected to run through the existing Kenya subsidiary.

The offer cannot open until the CMA grants both the exemption and separate approval, with an indicative 30-business-day window pegged for 30 June to 11 August 2026, dates subject to change. Bowmans is advising on the transaction.

The 68.5% base stake dates to 2013, when Barclays Plc folded its African units into what became Absa Group. The tender lands alongside Nedbank Group's pending acquisition of a 66% stake in NCBA Group, part of a wider reshuffling of ownership across Kenya's banking sector.