Nedbank Group’s proposed acquisition of a controlling stake in NCBA Group has cleared two significant regulatory hurdles, with regional competition authorities granting unconditional approval for the cross-border banking transaction.
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Competition Commission (CCCC) and the East African Community Competition Authority (EACCA) have both signed off on the deal, which would see the South African lender acquire roughly 66% of NCBA, one of East Africa’s largest financial institutions. The CCCC found that the transaction was unlikely to negatively affect competition in the three Comesa markets where NCBA operates, paving the way for an unconditional clearance, stating that “the merger was not likely to substantially prevent competition in the Common Market or a substantial part of it, nor would it affect public interest.”
While EACCA has not yet published its formal ruling, Nedbank disclosed in a Tuesday investor update that it had already received the authority’s approval.
The deal, first announced on 21 January 2026 when Nedbank submitted its notice of intention to acquire NCBA to the Kenyan Capital Markets Authority, the Nairobi Securities Exchange and the Competition Authority of Kenya, has steadily gained momentum. In February, Kenya’s CMA cleared a separate but crucial condition. The exemption, granted on 19 February 2026, released Nedbank from the obligation under Kenya’s Capital Markets regulations to extend a mandatory takeover offer for all remaining NCBA shares once it crossed the control threshold. Nedbank confirmed the milestone in a shareholder notice, stating that “the CMA granted the CMA Exemption, thereby fulfilling this condition.”
Shareholder support has also strengthened considerably. Nedbank said shareholders representing 77.54% of NCBA have agreed to accept the offer, up from 71.2% in January, reducing execution risk for the partial acquisition structure.
NCBA’s management has reiterated that operations remain unaffected by the pending approvals. Managing Director John Gachora said the proposed transaction with Nedbank continues to progress in line with plan, with key deal milestones currently on track.
On timing, Nedbank said in its investor update that the balance of approvals are tracking well, with the indicative completion date remaining at the end of the third quarter of 2026 or early fourth quarter of 2026. Outstanding approvals are still expected from the Central Bank of Kenya and other national regulators across NCBA’s footprint, which spans Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. NCBA’s shareholder offer is currently set to close on 10 July 2026.
