Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has confirmed that his company acquired a 25 per cent stake in Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) for approximately Ksh42.5 billion ($327 million).
Dangote made the announcement during the 13th annual Financial Times Africa Summit in London on Wednesday, October 21, but did not identify which company in his business group completed the acquisition.
“We bought 25 per cent of their pipeline network for the distribution of petroleum products,” he stated.
According to Bloomberg, Dangote’s announcement identifies the buyer behind a block trade involving 4.5 billion KPC shares reported by the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on Monday.
A Kenya Pipeline Company fuel reservoir.
Photo
KPC
The 4.5 billion shares were sold at prices ranging from Ksh9.02 to Ksh9.36 each, generating approximately Ksh42.46 billion in the transaction.
Under Kenya’s capital markets rules, acquiring 25 per cent or more of a listed company’s voting shares triggers a mandatory takeover procedure requiring formal notification to the Capital Markets Authority (CMA).
KPC, previously wholly owned by the government, sold 65 per cent of its shares through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) that opened on January 19, closed on February 19, and saw the company listed on the NSE on March 9.
President William Ruto had disclosed that private investors acquired the shares from public entities but did not disclose the identities of the buyers or the institutions that sold their holdings.
Major public investors in KPC following the IPO included the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Unclaimed Financial Assets Authority (UFAA) and state-backed pension schemes, although there was no confirmation on which institutions participated in the latest sale.
The development comes amid further questions as Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro alleged that public pension funds were directed to purchase KPC shares before some of the holdings were sold to a private investor.
In a post on Wednesday, Nyoro also claimed that the shares were sold at a loss after accounting for transaction costs and alleged that the investor and the investment bank involved had links to the President.
“The other week, I was suspended from Parliament for stating the obvious. That the Kenya Pipeline IPO was a failure, subscription being below 3 per cent at the last day of the IPO. And that President William Ruto called the CEOs of NSSF, PSSF, Unclaimed Assets, CPF, and others to risk pensioners' savings against professional advice,” he wrote.
As KPC eyes a proposed Ksh35 billion petroleum trading hub on 377 acres owned by its subsidiary, Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd, questions remain over how the project and Dangote’s latest purchase will align with the planned Ksh2.2 trillion East Africa Refinery.
President William Ruto and Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote talk during the refinery groundbreaking ceremony in Lamu, September 30, 2026.
PCS