Kenyans will own less of Quickmart than first planned. The supermarket chain has rewritten the allocation of its Sh15bn initial public offering to make room for foreign cornerstone investors, Business Daily reports, in an amended information memorandum dated 23 October.
Who gets what
- Cornerstone investors: 48%, about Sh7.2bn at Sh7.50 a share, up from 13% (Sh1.95bn).
- Kenyan and East African retail investors: 12%, down from 20%, according to Business Tech Africa.
- Local institutions: 32%. Local investors together get at most 44%, down from 67%.
- Other foreign investors: 8%, down from 20%.
Because the two billion shares on offer are half the company, the cornerstone block works out to about 24% of Quickmart on listing. The four cornerstones are the UK government's MOBILIST programme and the World Bank's IFC, which took Sh1.94bn each, US-based 337 Frontier Capital with Sh1.94bn, and UK fund manager RWC Asset Management with Sh1.3bn, Business Daily reports.
Quickmart said the indicative allocations "are not binding and may be adjusted by the issuer and selling shareholder" depending on demand. The offer, which opened on 5 October, closes on 30 October, and Business Daily says the shares list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on 11 November.
The business being sold
Quickmart is Kenya's second-largest retail chain after Naivas, with 72 stores in 16 counties. Net profit rose 33% to Sh1.51bn in 2025 on sales of Sh50.43bn, and it plans at least 50 more stores over four years. The sellers are private equity firm Adenia Partners, the Kinuthia family, the Tumaini founders and chief executive Peter Kang'iri, who are each selling half their holdings.
