Investment bank Dyer & Blair and stock brokerage Francis Drummond have been picked to guide Kenya Pipeline Company’s initial public offering (IPO) in which the government seeks to raise Sh100 billion by selling a 65 percent stake.
Sources have confirmed the selection of the two market intermediaries to this publication ahead of the expected floating of the State corporation’s shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in the first quarter of 2026.
Dyer & Blair which is affiliated to businessman Jimnah Mbaru has been selected as the lead stockbroker while Francis Drummond has been appointed as the co-sponsoring broker for the IPO.
Dyer & Blair has the primary objective of organising the initial public offering by working with other investment banks to establish an advisory consortium.
Its scope of work also includes assessing KPC’s financials and current market conditions to arrive at the initial value and number of shares to be sold.
Earlier this month, this publication confirmed the selection of Faida Investment Bank as the lead transaction advisor for the IPO process.
Dyer & Blair was the second most profitable brokerage firm in six months ending in June 2025, booking a net profit of Sh123.6 million representing an 870 percent growth rate from Sh12.7 million a year prior.
Francis Drummond meanwhile bounced back to profitability to post Sh13.4 million in net earnings over the same period from a loss of Sh1.3 million previously.
The government has a set deadline of March 31, 2026, for the listing of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) shares on the NSE.
The Privatisation Commission which is tasked with overseeing the sale process sought the services of transaction advisors to lay the framework for the transaction.
These include the lead and co-sponsoring stockbroker, legal advisers, an advertising agent, a public relations firm, a receiving bank and a registrar.
The lead transaction advisor will be responsible for coordinating the entire IPO process including overseeing all other advisors.
“The National Assembly has approved the privatisation of Kenya Pipeline Company Limited through an initial public offer of shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE). The expected closing date for the transaction is March 31, 2026,” the Privatisation Commission said in a notice in October.
Members of Parliament approved the transaction in the same month with the deal expected to see the government offload a 65 percent majority stake to private investors.
The Privatisation Commission is expected to ensure that all liabilities and risks affecting the valuation of KPC are comprehensively assessed, transparently disclosed and factored into the transaction valuation before proceeding with the IPO.
The advisors including law firms involved in the process are expected to book hundreds of millions of shillings in fees, lifting their bottom-line in the process.
The firms usually attract fees that are mostly a percentage of the entire transaction.
Investment bankers and lawyers who are guiding the sale of the government’s 15 percent stake in Safaricom are expected to pocket nearly Sh2.3 billion in fees, mirroring the sizable earnings available for the facilitation of market deals.
South Africa domiciled Vodacom which is purchasing the stake told analysts on a conference call that the Safaricom share purchase deal would yield transaction costs of between 200 million rands (Sh1.51 billion) and 300 million rands (Sh2.27 billion) where the bulk covers brokerage fees and stamp duty changes.
Previously in 2023, British multinational Diageo disclosed that it spent £4 million (Sh688 million) on transaction fees when buying an additional 14.97 percent stake in EABL.
