Sokoni Retail Kenya Ltd. offloaded half of its ownership in Quick Mart across 18,492 investor applications for 2.45 billion shares priced at 7.50 shillings each. Four cornerstone institutions, including the World Bank's International Finance Corp. and the UK's Mobilist program, secured a combined 21.6% stake in the business. Just over 18,000 regional retail applicants received their full allocation of 119.6 million shares, while 44 foreign investors were allotted about half of what they sought.
Key points
The transaction offers a rare private equity exit route on the Nairobi exchange for major…: The transaction offers a rare private equity exit route on the Nairobi exchange for majority owner Adenia Partners.
Retail applicants from Kenya and East Africa were granted their full allocation totaling…: Retail applicants from Kenya and East Africa were granted their full allocation totaling 119.6 million shares.
Institutional appetite was reinforced by cornerstone backing from entities including RWC…: Institutional appetite was reinforced by cornerstone backing from entities including RWC Asset Management and the International Finance Corp.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
(Bloomberg) -- Quick Mart Plc saw demand for shares in its initial public offering exceed the number available by almost 23% as Kenya’s second-biggest supermarket chain concluded the nation’s second IPO of the year.
Investors applied for 2.45 billion shares at 7.50 shillings each in the Nairobi-based company while 2 billion were on offer, it said in a statement on Friday. The firm got 18,492 applications.
“The board is delighted with the strong response,” Quick Mart said.
The sale is a sign of a tentative revival in Kenyan equity-capital markets where there have been few listings. Quick Mart is only the second company to pursue an IPO this year in Nairobi after state-run Kenya Pipeline Co.’s offer. Rising share prices have helped to create a more favorable backdrop for investors, with the nation’s benchmark stocks gauge gaining 28% in dollar terms this year, placing it among the 10 best performers globally.
Just over 18,000 Kenyan and East African retail investors received a full allocation of 119.6 million shares, while 44 foreign buyers got about 236 million shares, or just under…
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