Rock Investment Bank has acquired a 60 percent stake in Nabo Capital from Centum Investment Company.
This Rock Investment Bank Nabo Capital Kenya deal is estimated at Sh271 million and ends Centum’s majority ownership of the fund manager after more than a decade.
The acquisition received full regulatory clearance from the Capital Markets Authority.
As part of the transaction, Centum retains a 40 percent shareholding in Nabo Capital.
Following the deal, Nabo will cease to be a subsidiary of Centum and will instead be treated as an associate company in the group’s financial statements.
Centum confirmed in a statement that it remains fully committed to Nabo and is pleased to continue as a significant shareholder alongside Rock Investment Bank.
Understanding the Centum Nabo Capital Acquisition 2026 Structure
The Centum Nabo Capital acquisition 2026 deal was structured to keep Centum meaningfully involved even as it steps back from majority control.
Centum described the transaction as bringing together three highly complementary institutions.
The company said it will continue providing strategic support as a long-term shareholder, even as Rock Investment Bank takes over operational control.
The financial value of the transaction was not disclosed publicly.
However, Nabo Capital had a fair value of Sh452.3 million as of March 2025, when Centum still owned it outright, according to the listed firm’s annual report.
This gives some sense of the scale involved, even without an official price tag attached to the 60 percent stake.
Who Is Behind Rock Investment Bank
This acquisition marks the biggest expansion yet for Rock under managing director Dr Belgrad Kenne.
Kenne previously led advisory work on the Kenya Pipeline Company initial public offering, giving him a notable track record in Kenyan capital markets before this deal.
Rock’s own corporate journey has moved quickly. In February 2026, the Capital Markets Authority upgraded the firm’s licence, allowing it to operate as a full investment bank.
That regulatory upgrade prompted the company’s rebranding to Rock Investment Bank.
Investment banks offer a broader range of services than standard brokerages, including market research, corporate advisory, wealth management, and proprietary trading.
Rock has built its reputation primarily around advising companies on mergers, acquisitions, capital raising, and corporate restructuring, alongside stockbroking and wealth management services.
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Why This Deal Signals Kenya Asset Management Consolidation
This transaction reflects broader Kenya asset management consolidation trends playing out across the industry.
The acquisition gives Rock an immediate foothold in the fast-growing asset management business.
It also creates an opportunity to offer clients a wider range of investment products on a single platform, combining investment banking services with established fund management capabilities.
Nabo Capital currently manages competitive Kenya Shilling and US Dollar money market and fixed income funds.
These funds have consistently delivered annualised yields in a strong range, making Nabo an attractive asset for a firm looking to expand into recurring fund management income rather than relying solely on transactional investment banking revenue.
The Bigger Picture Behind This Nabo Capital Ownership Change Kenya
This Nabo Capital ownership change Kenya development did not happen in isolation. It fits a broader pattern in Centum’s recent portfolio strategy.
The investment company has, in recent years, sold or reduced its holdings in several businesses while redirecting capital toward sectors it believes offer stronger long-term returns.
Just months earlier, in March 2026, Centum offloaded its remaining 13.6 percent stake in Sidian Bank, ending a 25-year relationship with the lender.
For Centum, this transaction is consistent with a strategy of bringing in strategic partners to help scale investee companies, while recycling capital and retaining minority exposure to businesses it still believes in.
Rather than exiting Nabo entirely, Centum is betting that a new majority owner with stronger capital markets distribution can accelerate growth it may not have been able to deliver alone.
What Comes Next for Kenya’s Fund Management Sector
The timing of this deal lines up with real momentum in Kenya’s broader asset management market.
Assets under management by collective investment schemes reached KES 851.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up 13 percent from December 2025.
As of March 2026, those assets were spread across 43 active funds and roughly 3.62 million investors, though the market remains concentrated, with the five largest asset managers controlling 63 percent of total assets.
Both companies say the partnership aims to accelerate growth in Nabo’s assets under management, broaden its product portfolio, expand its distribution network, and strengthen its position both in Kenya and across the wider region.
As competition for institutional and retail savings intensifies among Kenyan financial services firms, this acquisition gives Rock Investment Bank a meaningful platform to compete for a larger share of that growing pool of managed assets.
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