NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 21 — Kenya has opened the sale of a 65 per cent stake in Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) in a record IPO, marking the country’s biggest-ever privatisation and first fully digital share offer.
Under the offer, local and international investors will buy 65 per cent of KPC’s issued ordinary shares at Sh9 per share, a move that will significantly dilute state ownership in one of Kenya’s most strategic energy infrastructure firms.
The offer opened on January 19, 2026, and will run for one month, closing on February 19 at 5pm.
The National Treasury expects the transaction to raise about Sh106 billion, making it a key pillar of the government’s wider privatisation programme.
In notices published in local newspapers, the Privatisation Authority and KPC said the public offer has been structured as a fully digital transaction to improve accessibility, transparency and efficiency, allowing investors across the country to participate without visiting stockbroker offices.
To participate, investors must hold a valid Central Depository System (CDS) account, used to hold shares electronically.
The Privitisation Authority advised those without a CDS account to contact licensed stockbrokers or investment banks to open one before the offer closes.
Digital application process
KPC has availed two digital channels. Individual investors may apply using the USSD option by dialling 483816# from a registered Kenyan mobile number, a process that integrates mobile money payments.
All categories of investors, including institutions, can also apply through the KPC IPO online portal using an internet-enabled device.
During the application process, investors will accept the offer terms, enter their CDS account number, select their investor category and indicate the number of shares they wish to purchase.
KPC has set minimum application at 100 shares, translating to an investment of Sh900.
Applicants complete payment within the same application process using mobile money services, bank transfers, electronic funds transfers, or balances held in brokerage accounts.
After the offer period ends, the company allocates shares to successful applicants. In the event of oversubscription, investors may receive fewer shares than they applied for, with any excess funds refunded.
March 9 listing
The company will credit successful applicants’ shares electronically to their CDS accounts ahead of KPC’s listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on March 9, 2026, when trading in the stock will officially begin.
Through the IPO, KPC is offering 11.81 billion ordinary shares to the public, representing a 65 per cent stake in the company.
The Capital Markets Authority has approved both the offer and the subsequent listing on the NSE’s main investment market segment.
Kenya Pipeline Company is currently a state corporation, with 99.9 per cent ownership held by the National Treasury and a fractional stake by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum.
The company operates the national petroleum pipeline network, transporting refined fuel from Mombasa to major towns inland.
Its infrastructure spans about 1,342 kilometres of pipeline and handles an estimated 14 billion litres of petroleum products annually, making it central to Kenya’s fuel security and price stability.
The sale of a majority stake through the IPO marks one of the most ambitious privatisation efforts by the government in recent years, opening up public ownership of a firm that has traditionally remained under full state control.
