Dyer & Blair, under chairman and CEO Jimnah Mbaru, has secured a pivotal role as lead retail broker for MTN Uganda's Ksh132 billion initial public offering (IPO), set to expand retail investor participation on the Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) to 200,000 from 40,000. The deal underscores the firm's longstanding influence in East African capital markets, tracing back to its 1983 acquisition by Mbaru's local investor group from Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB).
Founded in 1954 as a Nairobi stockbroking partnership, Dyer & Blair underwent ownership transitions including a 1956 shift to Derek Ingram Dyer & Patrick Murdoch Blair before being acquired by KCB in 1973. Mbaru's leadership since 1983 transformed the firm into a regional investment bank operating through subsidiaries in Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda, becoming a Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) member in 1983. The company achieved full licensing as an investment bank in 2004.
The MTN Uganda IPO, which launched on October 11, 2021, follows a legacy of major regional transactions. Dyer & Blair has advised on landmark deals including:
- Safaricom's 2008 IPO that attracted 800,000 investors and raised Ksh220 billion
- Bralirwa's 2009 Rwanda Stock Exchange debut as East Africa's largest brewer
- The 2007 USD179 million acquisition of Equity Bank Group's stake by Helios Investment Partners, with Helios exiting in 2015
- NIC Insurance Uganda's 2010 IPO, the country's first insurance listing
As lead broker for MTN Uganda's offering, Dyer & Blair will facilitate Kenyan investor participation through SBG Securities, reinforcing its role in shaping East Africa's financial landscape through decades of strategic market engagements.
