Centum Investment Company has sold a 60% stake in Nabo Capital to Rock Investment Bank, reducing its holding in the fund manager to 40%. The transaction moves Nabo from a Centum subsidiary to an associate company and gives Rock immediate control of one of Kenya’s established asset management platforms.
Key Overview
- Centum has sold 60% of Nabo Capital to Rock Investment Bank.
- Centum will retain a 40% stake, changing Nabo’s accounting status from subsidiary to associate.
- The transaction value was not disclosed.
- Nabo had a fair value of Sh452.3 million as of March 2025, when Centum still owned it fully.
- Rock’s entry adds investment banking, advisory and capital markets capacity to Nabo’s next growth phase.
Centum Cuts Control but Keeps Exposure
Centum Investment Company has sold a controlling stake in Nabo Capital to Rock Investment Bank, reducing its ownership in the fund manager from 100% to 40%. The deal gives Rock a 60% stake and shifts Nabo’s status from a subsidiary to an associate company in Centum’s books.
The transaction value was not disclosed. However, Nabo Capital had a reported fair value of Sh452.3 million as of March 2025, when Centum still owned the fund manager fully. The sale therefore represents a significant portfolio move for Centum, which has increasingly used asset disposals, strategic partnerships and minority holdings to unlock value while retaining selective exposure to investee companies.
Nabo Capital was incorporated in 2012 as Centum Asset Managers Limited before later changing its name. Its fund documentation states that the company was first licensed by the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya in 2013 and later approved as a fund manager for collective investment schemes in 2014. The same document described Nabo as a wholly owned subsidiary of Centum before the new transaction.
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Rock Gains a Fund Management Platform
Rock Investment Bank’s acquisition gives it a direct asset management platform at a time when Kenya’s investment products market is becoming more competitive. Rock describes itself as a CMA-regulated institution focused on capital formation, strategic transactions and long-term wealth creation. Earlier market coverage also noted that Kenya’s Capital Markets Authority had approved new and upgraded licenses for firms seeking to deepen capital markets participation, including investment banking and advisory players.
For Rock, Nabo offers an existing brand, fund management infrastructure and access to a client base already active in unit trusts and managed investment products. That gives the investment bank a faster route into recurring asset management revenues than building a fund management business from scratch.
For Nabo, Rock’s entry could support product development, distribution and institutional deal flow. The strategic question is whether Rock can combine its advisory and investment banking capabilities with Nabo’s fund management base to grow assets under management, widen retail access and serve more institutional clients.
Kenya’s Fund Market Provides the Growth Case
The deal comes as Kenya’s collective investment schemes market continues to expand, supported by demand for money market funds, dollar funds, fixed income products and professionally managed portfolios. The Capital Markets Authority’s list of approved collective investment schemes includes Nabo Africa Money Market Fund, Nabo Africa Balanced Fund, Nabo Africa Fixed Income Fund, Nabo Africa Equity Fund and Nabo Capital Money Market Fund USD among the products under the Nabo platform.
Investor appetite has been helped by digital onboarding, higher retail participation and demand for liquid yield products. Money market funds in particular have become popular among Kenyans seeking alternatives to ordinary bank savings accounts, while dollar funds have gained attention from investors looking for foreign-currency exposure.
That growth backdrop makes Nabo more strategically valuable. Under Rock, the fund manager could pursue wider distribution partnerships, sharper product segmentation and a stronger institutional pipeline. Under Centum, the retained 40% stake allows continued participation in any future upside without carrying full ownership or consolidation burden.
What Remains Undisclosed
Several important transaction details remain unclear. Centum did not disclose the purchase price, Rock’s payment structure or whether the deal was completed through a direct share purchase, a new capital injection or a combination of both.
Those details matter because they would show whether the transaction mainly gives Centum liquidity, injects fresh capital into Nabo, or does both. They would also help investors assess how much value Centum has crystallised from the sale and how aggressively Rock intends to scale the business.
For now, the strategic direction is clear: Centum is reducing direct control while keeping minority exposure, Rock is expanding into asset management, and Nabo is entering a new phase under a controlling shareholder with capital markets ambitions.
Sources used: Business Daily / Nabo Capital / Rock Investment Bank / Capital Markets Authority / The Kenyan Wall Street
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