The owners of Quickmart, Kenya’s second-largest supermarket chain, are selling half the company to the public for Ksh.15 billion ($116 million), and none of that money will go to the business. The Initial Public Offering (IPO), which opened on 5 October, prices 2 billion existing shares at Ksh. 7.50 (5.8 US cents) each, valuing Quick Mart PLC at Ksh.30 billion ($232 million), according to the company’s offer announcement.
The seller is Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited, which owns every Quickmart share. Quickmart said in its 23 September intention-to-float statement that it will issue no new shares, receive no proceeds and keep funding store openings from its own cash flow. The offer closes on 30 October, and trading on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) is scheduled to start on 12 November.
Who gets paid
Sokoni Retail Kenya is the vehicle through which funds managed by private equity firm Adenia Partners, Quickmart’s founders, the founders of Tumaini and group chief executive Peter Kang’iri hold their stakes, according to the company. Adenia invested in both Quickmart and Tumaini, which merged and rebranded as Quickmart in 2020. Quickmart said each of those shareholders will sell down in proportion to their holdings.
The final terms differ from the plan Quickmart set out in September. That statement said the offer was expected to include an over-allotment option of up to 15% of the shares, which would have cut Sokoni’s holding to about 42.5%. The offer published on 5 October carries no over-allotment option, so Sokoni keeps 50% of the company after the sale.
Sokoni has agreed to a 24-month lock-up from the listing date on 60% of its post-offer holding, according to the announcement. On a remaining stake of 2 billion shares, that locks 1.2 billion shares and leaves 800 million, equal to 20% of the company, free of the restriction.
What the price buys
Quickmart reported revenue of Ksh.50.4 billion ($390 million) and adjusted profit after tax of Ksh. 1.7 billion ($13 million) for 2025, with revenue growing at a compound annual rate of 18.4% from 2021 to 2025, according to its September statement. Revenue for the first six months of 2026 was Ksh.27.3 billion ($211 million). The statement gives adjusted profit only and does not report the unadjusted figure.
At Ksh.30 billion, investors are paying about 17.6 times Quickmart’s 2025 adjusted profit and about 0.6 times its annual sales, based on Sable Africa calculations from the company’s figures.
The board intends to pay out at least 80% of annual profit after tax as dividends, twice a year, with the first payment covering the second half of 2026 due in the first half of 2027, the company said.
Applied to 2025 adjusted profit, an 80% payout would total about Ksh.1.36 billion ($10.5 million), or Ksh.0.34 a share, a 4.5% yield at the offer price. Quickmart describes the payout ratio as a target and not a guaranteed distribution.
The chain runs 72 stores in 16 counties, up from 64 at the end of 2025, and estimates its share of Kenya’s modern grocery market at about 15%. It plans to open 10 to 15 stores a year and is targeting more than 100 stores over the medium term, according to the statement.
The demand test
The offer is not underwritten, so no bank has agreed to buy shares that investors leave unsold. It proceeds only if applications cover at least 75% of the shares, or 1.5 billion shares worth Ksh.11.25 billion ($87 million); below that, the sale is cancelled and application money refunded, according to the announcement.
The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector lender, has conditionally committed up to $15 million (about Ksh.1.94 billion) as a cornerstone investor. That covers about 13% of the offer, or 6.5% of the company, and still requires approval from IFC’s board, Quickmart said.
The last large offer on the Nairobi exchange gives a reference point. Kenya Pipeline Company’s state share sale at Ksh.9 a share, targeting about Ksh.106 billion ($820 million), drew applications for 12.4 billion shares against 11.8 billion on offer, Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi said in March, a subscription rate of 105.7%. Quickmart’s offer is about one-seventh of that size.
Retail investors can apply for a minimum of 500 shares, or Ksh.3,750 ($29), through the online offer platform, through the USSD code 483803# for applications up to Ksh.250,000 ($1,933), or on paper forms through the placing agents. Every applicant needs a Central Depository System account, the electronic register that holds Kenyan listed shares.
What to watch
Quickmart is scheduled to announce results and allocations on 6 November, credit investors’ accounts and process refunds on 11 November, and begin trading on 12 November, according to its timetable. The company said any change to the offer period requires Capital Markets Authority (CMA) approval.