© Copyright Acquisition International 2025 - All Rights Reserved.

Article Image - Centum Acquisition of a Controlling Stake in K-Rep Bank
Posted 1st February 2015

Centum Acquisition of a Controlling Stake in K-Rep Bank

Centum, the East African investment firm, announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in Kenyan bank K-REP Bank Limited.

Mouse Scroll AnimationScroll to keep reading

Let us help promote your business to a wider following.

Centum Acquisition of a Controlling Stake in K-Rep Bank
Image

Centum Acquisition of a Controlling Stake in K-Rep Bank

In November 2014, Centum, the East African investment firm, announced the acquisition of a controlling stake in Kenyan bank K-REP Bank Limited from several existing shareholders. Fred Murimi, Corporate Affairs Director, Centum Investment Company Limited, told us more about the deal – and how it will help Centum achieve its goal of becoming Africa’s foremost investment channel

Centum is a listed investment firm established in 1969 and is listed on the Nairobi and Uganda securities exchanges. It has over US$470m in investment in financial services, FMCG, power and real estate.

With a vision is to be Africa’s foremost investment channel, Centum’s key objective is to consistently generate market beating returns by building extraordinary enterprises throughout Africa.

In November 2014, Centum announced the acquisition of a 66% stake in K-REP Bank Limited from several existing shareholders, including African Development Bank, IFC, Triodos Doen, FMO and Shorecap International to bring its total shareholding in K-REP to 67.54%.

“Centum exercised its preemptive right, together with other non-selling shareholders, to obtain a controlling stake in the bank,” says Fred Murimi, Corporate Affairs Director, Centum Investment Company Limited.

K-REP was licensed as a commercial bank in 1999 and has registered steady growth over the years. The bank is a medium-sized microfinance bank serving the urban and rural poor in Kenya, as well as financing their small-to-medium business enterprises. As at 30 June 2014, K-REP’s total assets were valued at KES13,683m (US$149.7m).

Centum says the deal is in line with its objective of expanding its presence in the financial services sector. “Centum intends to drive increased investment focus in eight key sectors, one of which is financial services, as it seeks to become Africa’s foremost investment channel,” says Murimi.

A well-thought-out plan of action is vital to successfully completing a deal – and ensuring it continues to be successful in the long term, says Murimi. “The important elements are alignment among all stakeholders and a clear vision and strategy for the investment by the new investor.”

Like any deal, there were, of course, challenges, says Murimi. “The major challenge was negotiating with five different investors on a share purchase agreement. This was overcome through ensuring a joint negotiation all through resulting in buy in from the different sellers at any one time.

“Time was also a constraint since the transaction required a number of regulatory approvals and the long stop date from signing the SPA was short. This was overcome by continuous engagement with the regulators, who also worked efficiently in the period.”

The current business environment in Kenya is very encouraging, says Murimi – and this was important in helping bring the deal to a successful conclusion. “It’s positive and optimistic looking into the future, with improved government investment in infrastructure and a concerted effort by the government to support businesses.

“The climate was conducive to completing the deal,” he says.

It’s a deal which will be beneficial to both parties, says Murimi. “The deal will allow K-REP to access a wider capital base and increase its presence in the sector, while allowing Centum to increase its financial services portfolio.”

Looking to the future, Murimi says Centum intends to grow K-REP into a full-service Tier II bank in Kenya within five years.

Categories: M&A, Strategy


You Might Also Like
Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Sustained Excellence in IT & Communication Services
Innovation
09/01/2025Sustained Excellence in IT & Communication Services

Recognised in our Judges Choice Awards 2024, Flexdata LDA is a provider of exemplary technology solutions, particularly those relating to energy, communications, security, datacentres, and software systems.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Golden Opportunities in Indonesia’s IP Industry
Finance
31/08/2016Golden Opportunities in Indonesia’s IP Industry

Am Badar & Partners is one of the leading intellectual property (IP) firms in Indonesia. The firm was founded by Mr Toetoen Ambadar, SH and established as legal entity on September 2 1965.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
CEO of the Year
Innovation
02/02/2016CEO of the Year

Delta Network System Ltd. is the core entity of DNS group, with the vision of providing best solution for advanced networking and integration solutions and services.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Large Sum Buys and Payments Abroad: How to Reduce Associated Fees
Finance
25/04/2022Large Sum Buys and Payments Abroad: How to Reduce Associated Fees

Buying an expensive item abroad may not sound like a logical go-to in the wake – or the midst, depending on your position – of a global pandemic. Supply chains have been chewed up, with worker and truck driver shortages, along with a microprocessor

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Acquire Liberty Living
M&A
Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
A Smooth Transition
Finance
26/07/2022A Smooth Transition

FP Transitions is a specialized business consulting firm dedicated to wealth managers and independent financial advisors with over twenty years of industry expertise.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Placing Ethical and Human Values at the Heart of all Relationships
Legal
30/08/2019Placing Ethical and Human Values at the Heart of all Relationships

UrbanLaw Avocats provides legal advice and assistance to public entities (national or local), as well as major French and international groups. Following their success in AI’s Global Excellence Awards 2019 where they were selected as the Best Urban Planning

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
King & Wood Mallesons Advise Parquest’s Acquisition of Clinique du Souffle
Legal
30/07/2015King & Wood Mallesons Advise Parquest’s Acquisition of Clinique du Souffle

King & Wood Mallesons Advise Parquest's Acquisition of Clinique du Souffle

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Paying the Price: Late Payments Forcing UK Businesses to Make Tough Decisions
Finance
17/02/2015Paying the Price: Late Payments Forcing UK Businesses to Make Tough Decisions

Although late payments are something almost every business comes across, in the UK there is currently a culture of unpaid payment causing a domino effect of debt across the British Isles.



Our Trusted Brands

Acquisition International is a flagship brand of AI Global Media. AI Global Media is a B2B enterprise and are committed to creating engaging content allowing businesses to market their services to a larger global audience. We have 14 unique brands, each of which serves a specific industry or region. Each brand covers the latest news in its sector and publishes a digital magazine and newsletter which is read by a global audience.

Arrow