Shares of Absa Bank Kenya rose by 9.2 percent on Friday morning after parent company Absa Group announced plans to increase its stake in the lender to 85 percent from 68.5 percent in a deal valued at Ksh30.9 billion ($240 million).
The stock climbed to Ksh32.1 in early trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange as investors welcomed the move, which includes a tender offer at Ksh34.50 per share—an 18.1 percent premium to the bank’s 30-day volume-weighted average price as of June 17, according to Nairobi-based financial services firm Mwango Capital.
The Johannesburg-based lender on Thursday launched a tender offer to acquire up to 895.99 million shares from minority shareholders, underscoring its confidence in the long-term prospects of its Kenyan subsidiary and the broader East African banking market.
The transaction, one of the largest recent banking deals in East Africa, comes amid intensifying competition among South African lenders seeking growth outside
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