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# Nedbank completes its R13.9 billion deal for 66% of Kenya's NCBA and its East African foothold
- URL: https://www.businessbagel.com/nedbank-completes-ncba-deal/
- Published: 2026-11-09T03:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-09T03:00:00.000Z
- Description: Rather than build a bank from scratch, Nedbank has bought control of a Kenyan lender with more than 60 million customers in six countries.
- Author: Christian Maidman
- Tags: Companies, Business Bagel News

Nedbank has completed its R13.9 billion acquisition of a 66% stake in Kenya's NCBA, giving it a major foothold in East Africa. The offer became unconditional on 15 October, and the final settlement figures were announced on 5 November. So rather than building a banking business from scratch, Nedbank is buying control of an established lender that already earns money across the region.

## What Nedbank is buying

NCBA serves more than 60 million customers through 122 branches across Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ivory Coast and Ghana, which makes it the largest banking group in Africa by customer numbers. It manages about R84.4 billion in assets, disburses around R127 billion in digital loans a year and has averaged a return on equity of about 19% since 2021\. NCBA will keep its name, its Nairobi headquarters and its local management, and it will stay listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange. Nedbank expects to start including NCBA's results in its own from the fourth quarter of 2026.

## Paid for mostly in Nedbank shares

The deal was built mainly on shares. Under the offer, 80% of what NCBA shareholders received was Nedbank shares and 20% was cash. Total cash under the offer was capped at about R4 billion. In the end, Nedbank paid R2.9 billion in cash and issued roughly 43.6 million new shares. Demand was strong: shareholders tendered 79.9% of NCBA, and Nedbank scaled that back to about 1.09 billion shares, its 66% target. The R13.9 billion figure is the value reported while the deal awaited approval. The offer priced the new shares at R250 each, while at Nedbank's closing price of R286.82 on 4 November, they would be worth about R12.5 billion.

For Nedbank, the deal is a key step towards more exposure to markets outside South Africa, and less reliance on the one at home. As CEO Jason Quinn put it, the deal "establishes a significant presence for Nedbank in East Africa and marks a decisive step forward in our African growth strategy." Now the question is how much of NCBA's growth it can turn into returns for its own shareholders.