Absa Group’s tender offer to buy up to 895.99 million additional shares in Absa Bank Kenya closes tomorrow, 11 August 2026, at 5:00pm.
The Offer
The Johannesburg based lender is offering KES 34.50 per share for up to 895,989,600 ordinary shares, equivalent to 16.5% of Absa Bank Kenya’s issued share capital. The transaction is worth roughly KES 30.9 billion.
Absa currently holds 3.72 billion shares, or 68.5% of the bank. If the offer is fully subscribed, that stake will rise to 4.62 billion shares, or 85.0%, cutting the bank’s public float from 31.5% to 15%.
The tender price represents an 18.1% premium to the closing volume weighted average price on 17 June 2026, the last trading day before Absa filed its notice of intention to launch the offer. It also represents premiums of 20.0%, 18.9% and 28.2% to the 30, 90 and 180 day volume weighted average prices respectively, and implies a price to earnings multiple of 8.2 times for the financial year ended 31 December 2025.
Shareholders tendering 10,000 shares or fewer receive guaranteed acceptance in full. Any shares tendered above that threshold are subject to pro rata scale down if the offer is oversubscribed.
Background
Absa announced its intention to launch the offer on 19 June 2026 and opened it for acceptances on 30 June 2026, running the full 30 day offer period to tomorrow’s close. The Capital Markets Authority approved the announcement, and Absa has received the required regulatory clearances, including a Central Bank of Kenya approval dated 13 April 2026 and a Prudential Authority of the South African Reserve Bank approval dated 27 February 2026.
The Competition Authority of Kenya and the Nairobi Securities Exchange have been notified as a matter of procedure. Absa has also applied for and received an exemption from the Capital Markets Authority’s requirement to make a full mandatory takeover offer, and has said it intends to keep Absa Bank Kenya listed on the NSE after the transaction.
Absa Group’s regional head, Charles Russon, said in January that the group was not “set up appropriately” in Kenya, where it carries the full consolidated risk of the subsidiary while owning just over two thirds of it. Group CEO Kenny Fihla visited Kenya in February. The tender offer carries no minimum acceptance threshold, and Absa has reserved the right to acquire further shares through on market purchases after the offer closes.
Absa Bank Kenya lost its long serving CEO and managing director, Abdi Mohamed, to I&M Bank on the day the offer opened in June, after 32 years at the bank. Chief Financial Officer Yusuf Omari has served as interim CEO since 1 July pending a permanent appointment.
Bowmans acted as legal counsel to Absa Group on the transaction.
