Treasury Cabinet Secretary,John Mbadi announced that Kenyans and domestic institutional investors purchased the majority of shares offered during the public sale, signalling strong local confidence in the state energy infrastructure firm.
According to Mbadi, a total of 7.95 billion shares were acquired by Kenyan investors out of the 12.4 billion shares placed on the market at Sh9 each.
“We offered 11,812,644,350 shares at 9 shillings each. The total number of shares applied for stood at 12, 486, 78,724, translating to an overall subscription rate of 105.7 per cent,” Mbadi said.
Neighbouring countries also emerged as significant investors in the offer.
Uganda, Rwanda and other East African Community (EAC) members collectively purchased about 3.8 billion shares, representing a 21.22 per cent stake in the company.
Rwanda is reported to have invested through its national pension funds as part of a broader strategy to diversify long-term investments.
Despite the regional uptake, the Kenyan government will remain the largest shareholder, retaining a 35 per cent controlling stake in the pipeline operator.
Under the final share allocation, local institutional investors will hold about 41 per cent of the company, while retail investors account for 2.56 per cent.
KPC employees received 0.06 per cent, and licensed oil marketing companies operating in Kenya secured about 0.041 per cent of the shares.
Foreign investors will hold only a marginal 0.02 per cent stake.
The Treasury CS also pushed back against criticism that the share price had been inflated, saying the offer was oversubscribed and attracted strong demand.
He noted that some bids, including those from EAC states that sought larger allocations, had to be scaled down due to the high number of applications.
KPC shares are expected to start trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on March 9, making the company the fifth listing on the current trading board.
On questions surrounding the proposed National Investment Fund (NIF), where part of the proceeds were expected to be channelled, Mbadi clarified that the funds will first be deposited into the Consolidated Fund before being allocated through Parliament.
The IPO marks one of Kenya’s largest public share sales in recent years and is expected to deepen capital markets while broadening regional participation in the country’s energy infrastructure sector.
The oversubsciption has raised confidence in Kenya’s capital markets espoecially after the government was forced extend the offer period for three days and dangled board seats to Uganda in a bid to attract rich insititutional investors like the country’s National Social Security Fund (NSSF).
The offer, originally scheduled to close ON February 19 was pushed to February 24, 2026, at 5 p.m.
The changes gave Uganda formal influence over key strategic decisions, recognizing its reliance on KPC’s pipeline and storage network for fuel imports routed through Kenya.
Even so, the memorandum makes clear that these amendments do not create new share classes or alter existing voting rights.
The landlocked nation has no automatic ownership, proceeds, or preferential economic treatment unless it acquires shares through the offer or the secondary market
