I&M Holdings Plc has acquired an additional 15 percent stake in its Tanzanian subsidiary after two private equity firms exited following the expiry of an investment cycle spanning nearly 15 years.

 

The deal with Kibo Capital Partners and French development finance firm Proparco, concluded in December 2025, raises the group’s shareholding in I&M Bank Tanzania to 95 percent. The remaining shares are held by individual private investors.

Africa-focused mergers and acquisitions advisory firm Enexus Finance advised on the transaction. Its value was not disclosed.“The combined stake that they (PE firms) had was about 15 percent and this transaction simply represents exiting after a long participation as equity partners in the bank. They came in almost at the start of our acquisition back in 2010 and they have supported the group and the bank during that period as private equity funds,” a source privy to the deal told The EastAfrican.“They had an investment horizon, which they have already reached. They had even gone past that period (investment circle) and they have now exited. So, that is the basis of the transaction, and considering that the exit is through a sale to the I&M Group through the I&M Bank Kenya -- which was the major holder at the time of the acquisition -- it means that it is increasing its stake to 95 percent.”I&M Bank Group, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, acquired a 55 percent stake in I&M Bank (T) Ltd (formerly CF Union Bank Ltd) in 2010 as part of its East Africa expansion. It gradually increased its shareholding to 78.51 percent in 2024 and about 80 percent in 2025.“I&M Group owns 100 percent of I&M Bank Kenya. So, if you look at it through the beneficial ownership it is the group, that is the owner of the 95 percent stake in the business. The transaction was concluded just at the tailend of the year,” the source said.

The Tanzanian subsidiary had eight branches and 20,607 customers as at December 2024. In 2025, the group said it was open to further acquisitions to expand its East African footprint, citing the need to diversify sovereign risk and grow revenues through wider market access.

The group’s chief executive for regional operations, Kihara Maina, said last year that the lender was seeking acquisitions to deepen its regional presence, with a particular interest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The market has attracted regional banks including Kenya’s KCB and Equity, and Tanzania’s CRDB.“We are always open to the expansion that meets our strategic objectives. We have stated in our aspirations that we want to be the leading financial partner for growth in Eastern Africa and in that regard we keep our minds open to the opportunities that arise,” Mr Maina told The EastAfrican in October.“We have not seen any opportunities in that regard that we wanted to immediately pursue but we keep our interests open even for markets like DRC and the others so that if opportunity comes, we will certainly consider it and possibly make an acquisition.

”I&M Group operates in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda and Mauritius. Its most recent regional expansion was into Uganda through the acquisition of privately owned Orient Bank Ltd in April 2021.

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