KENYA Law and Practice Contributed by: Sammy Ndolo, Njeri Wagacha, Brian Muchiri and Deborah Sese, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr
Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (incorporating Kieti Law LLP) Merchant Square 3rd Floor Block D Riverside Drive Nairobi Kenya Tel: +2547 3208 6649 Email: cdhkenya@cdhlegal.com Web: www.cliffedekkerhofmeyr.com/en/
1. Transaction Activity 1.1 Private Equity Transactions and M&A Deals in General According to the East Africa Financial Review by I&M Burbidge Capital, published in 2024 (the “2024 IMB Review”), there were 88 private equity transactions in 2024, representing a 5.4% decline from the 93 trans - actions in 2023. The total disclosed value was approx - imately USD1.10 billion, a 31.3% decrease from the previous year. The average private equity deal value decreased by 18.8% to about USD20.3 million, while the median deal value rose by 9.1% to USD9.0 million. Venture capital was the most active investment type in 2024, with 44 transactions and accounting for 36% of total investment activity, representing an increase of 4.8% over the 42 transactions recorded in 2023. The total deal value for venture capital transactions was around USD133.9 million, a significant decline from 2023. The median deal value for venture capital transactions fell by 38% to USD2.0 million. The I&M Burbidge Monthly Financial Review for April 2025 (the “2025 IMB Review”) indicates that deal- making in East Africa showed resilience in the first quarter of 2025, with nine recorded deals – slightly higher than the seven deals during the same period in 2024. Disclosed deal values continued to decline, dropping from approximately USD47.0 million in 2024 to USD37.4 Million in a similar year-to-date period.
Trends in M&A Deals The 2024 IMB Review reports that mergers and acqui - sitions (M&A) activity saw a significant decrease in 2024, with 25 transactions, marking a 7% drop from 2023. The total disclosed deal value reached approxi - mately USD172.2 million, a substantial (40%) decrease from the previous year. African buyers were the main drivers of M&A, accounting for 72% of all deals; global buyer deals fell to 28%, down from 41% in 2023. Key sectors for M&A transactions included manufacturing and professional, financial services, healthcare, agri - business, information and communications technol - ogy (ICT), telecommunications and mining. Kenya led the way with 25 deals, followed by Tanzania with five deals, Ethiopia and Rwanda with two deals each and Uganda with one deal. 1.2 Market Activity and Impact of Macro- Economic Factors Active Sectors In the first quarter of 2024, the financial services sec - tor was the most active, recording seven transactions worth approximately USD30.8 million. The agribusi - ness sector followed with five transactions totalling around USD600.7 million, while the energy sector rounded out the top three with five transactions valued at about USD23.6 million. According to the April 2025 IMB Review, the numbers of deals in other sectors in the half of the year were as follows: • healthcare – four deals; • ICT and telecoms – three deals;
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