Kenyan Ndegwa family acquires additional $2.46-million stake in Nairobi-based lender, NCBA

The Kenyan Ndegwa family has purchased an additional 10 million shares in Nairobi-based NCBA Group for more than Ksh296 million ($2.46 million), as the super-rich family continues to consolidate their position in the financial services behemoth.

The acquisition comes nearly four months after the family of the late Kenyan banker Philip Ndegwa successfully transferred their stake in NCBA to First Chartered Securities, their investment vehicle, as part of their most recent efforts to restructure their banking interests.

According to a recent bourse filing dated Aug. 8, the Ndegwa family purchased an additional 10 million shares in a block trade executed at a price range of Ksh24 ($0.1996) to Ksh27 ($0.2246), according to market data.

The family spent a total of Ksh296 million ($2.46 million) to increase its position in the bank from 12.52 percent, or 206.2 million shares, to 13.13 percent, or 216.2 million shares, as of the time this report was written.

The share acquisition places the Ndegwa family on the heels of the Jomo Kenyatta family, which is NCBA’s largest shareholder and owns 13.2 percent of the company.

NCBA Group is a Nairobi-based financial services conglomerate that operates as a non-operating holding through its vast network of subsidiaries in Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, and Cote d’Ivoire.

The Kenyan banking firm, which has 109 branches in five countries including Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Ivory Coast, was founded in 2019 through the merger of NIC Bank Group and Commercial Bank of Africa Group.

Shares in NCBA Group were trading at a historic 52-week high of Ksh30 ($0.2495), up 1.35 percent from their opening price this morning, as market participants continued to scoop up interests in the leading lender after it declared a bumper interim dividend payment.

According to current market prices, the Ndegwa family’s 13.13-percent stake in NCBA Group is worth Ksh6.5 billion ($54 million).