Kenya: Quickmart IPO draws KES18.41bn in bids, 22.7% above offer

Kenyan supermarket operator Quickmart drew KES18.41 billion in share applications against a KES15 billion offering, according to IPO allocation results released on Friday, 6 November 2026. The offer was 122.7% subscribed, with demand exceeding the available shares by 22.7%.

The company reported 18,492 applications for 2,454,598,686 shares, compared with 2 billion shares offered at a fixed price of KES7.50 each. The excess represented nearly 455 million shares, underscoring investors’ interest in bringing a major supermarket chain to Kenya’s equity market.

The transaction involves existing shares sold by Quickmart shareholder Sokoni Retail Kenya Limited. The 2 billion shares offered represent half of the retailer’s 4 billion issued shares. Net proceeds, estimated at KES14.4 billion in the offer documents, will go to the selling shareholder.

Foreign investors seek almost three times their reserved shares

Foreign investors submitted applications valued at KES3.58 billion, equivalent to 298% of their initial reserved portion. Retail investors in Kenya and other East African Community countries applied for KES2.39 billion in shares, reaching 132.6% of their allocation.

Kenyan and regional institutional investors applied for KES5.25 billion, or 109.4% of their initial tranche. Cornerstone investors accounted for KES7.19 billion in demand, representing 99.9% of the amount reserved for them. Under the final allocation, eligible Kenyan and regional retail and institutional applicants received their requested shares in full, while founding shareholders who applied received no allocation.

Quickmart runs more than 70 supermarkets in Kenya and reports over five million customer transactions each month. All 4 billion issued shares are set to join the Nairobi Securities Exchange main market, with trading scheduled to begin on 12 November 2026.