4 of Kenya’s most memorable IPOs.

There are many Initial Public Offers that have been conducted in Kenya. Here are four of the most memorable.

1. KenGen IPO.

The KenGen IPO was the most publicized. It made Kenyans aware that there were other investment avenues apart from buying plots, and owning real estate. The IPO was massively oversubscribed, generating over 25 billion shillings. However, what the IPO really showed is that Kenyans had a lot of money, only that they didn’t know where to invest their money.

2. Eveready IPO.

Eveready IPO was regarded as a fluke. Many people did not have appetite for the shares, partly because of the lack of faith in the company’s long term prospects, as more Kenyans become
connected to electricity, and as cheap batter imports from China increase.

3. Safaricom IPO.

After the success of KenGen, many Kenyans could not wait to buy Safaricom shares. After all, it’s one of the most recognizable brands in Kenya, and is also the region’s most profitable company. However, whereas institutional investors got a windfall, small retail investors did not gain much from the investment, a reason that led many to abandon the NSE altogether.

4. ACCESS Kenya.

Access Kenya, a leading internet service provider, needed tonnes of money to roll out its services to the rest of the country. The family business ceded some shares to the Kenyans public, but not many people bought the shares. The fate of ISPs in Kenya is unknown, with mobile phone companies eating into their profit margins, as they increasingly shift to providing data services.

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