This archive report was first published on 11 October 2019.
Kenya has maintained its position as the leading investment hub in East Africa, attracting more than half of the region's financial deals in the first eight months of the year. According to a report by corporate finance advisory firm I&M Burbidge Capital (IMBC), Kenya took up 57 out of the 87 deals that the region attracted over the period.
Kenya's closest rival, Tanzania, clinched a mere 11 business agreements, while Uganda, Rwanda, and Ethiopia posted eight, six, and five deals respectively. The report attributed Kenya's position to recent big-ticket transactions, including Actis LLC's joint venture with South Africa's Improvon Group.
Actis LLC and Improvon Group have created a joint venture called ImpAct to build a 40-hectare industrial business park development at an estimated cost of $111 million (Sh11.5 billion). The new development, Nairobi Gate Industrial Park, will be Kenya's biggest industrial real estate investment to date, according to IMBC analysts Edward Burbidge and Linda Obwora.
East African countries witnessed a total of 12 disclosed deals valued at more than $173.5 million (Sh18 billion) in August alone. This brings the total deal value and volume for the year to date to more than $1.3 billion (Sh130 billion) and 75 respectively, said IMBC.
The financial services sector recorded the highest volume of deals to date in the region, boasting 18 out of the 75 disclosed deals. Other sectors that have seen significant deal activity include the energy, oil and gas sector, healthcare sector, and agribusiness sector, according to IMBC.
The real estate sector, despite attracting the least number of deals, had one of the highest value sizes in the ranking at more than $159.4 million (Sh15 billion). The region's mergers and acquisitions led the deal size at $562.6 million (Sh56.2 billion), followed by private equity at $292.5 million (Sh29.2 billion), and private equity exits at $224 million (Sh22.4 billion).
