Africa’s take-over, merger and acquisition landscape is dynamic, with various deals shaping the continent’s economic future. Botswana is taking steps to acquire a majority stake in De Beers, a leading diamond company, as part of its strategy to dominate the diamond sector and assert economic sovereignty. This move is part of a broader trend of resource nationalism in Africa, where countries prioritise state control over critical assets. De Beers has been valued at $4.9 billion. Angola too has announced a rival bid to Botswana’s bid to control De Beers, intensifying regional competition. In East Africa, Kenya leads the region in merger and acquisition deals, with transactions worth $600.3 million, followed by Tanzania and Uganda. A 2024 merger and acquisition report in Tanzania indicated that deals worth $284.9 million were carried out across 12 transactions. Recent trends show increased activities in sectors like health, agriculture, and mining. The Fair Competition Commission (FCC) of Tanzania is increasing its focus on merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions to ensure compliance.
South Africa has introduced foreign investment reviews for transactions involving foreign acquiring firms in sectors deemed important to national security interests. Recent South African merger and acquisition (M&A) deals include the merger of KAP’s PG Bison and MTO Forestry into a new entity, Cape Forest Products, and Fairvest’s acquisition of two malls in KwaZulu Natal for R674 million (about $39.30 million). The Kenyan unit of Standard Bank Group, a financial services provider, is in talks to acquire NCBA Group, a Kenyan retail and digital bank. If the deal goes through, it would create the country’s third-largest lender with nearly $8.5 billion in assets, according to latest filings. Insiders say that internal approvals at Stanbic are done, and share prices at Nairobi Security Exchange (NSE) are reacting. NCBA Group, valued at over $970 million, and with subsidiaries in Nairobi, Kenya; Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Ivory Coast, had its shares jump to 74 percent in the past 12 months.
This jump in share price could mean that the market is already pricing in a tie-up. Although there is no guarantee that a deal will be finalised, both entities plan on concluding a transaction in the following months. NCBA’s consumer reach with Standard Bank’s continental muscle creates a hybrid model built for scale. The combined entity can finance regional corporations and still dominate mobile lending. Together, they could offer a deeper corporate base and ensure better cross-border finance, while having a retail edge that NCBA built through mobile lending. The merged entity would still sit right under Equity Group Holdings, with its $13 billion assets, and KCB Group, with its $15 billion assets, Kenya’s two largest lenders. Stanbic and NCBA’s link-up would pose a fierce competition, but whether the asset gap will start to close is a matter of time. This takeover aligns neatly with Standard Bank’s goal to deepen its East African footprint and secure a bigger slice of Kenya’s fast-growing financial market.
Yango Group, a United Arab Emirates (UAE) technology company known for its ride-hailing, delivery, and super-app ambitions, has invested in Zanifu, a Kenyan fintech that provides working capital loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This undisclosed cash injection comes through Yango’s $20 million venture arm, Yango Ventures, and is part of the company’s broader ambitions to sit at the top level in Africa’s fintech and digital infrastructure. In July, Yango invested in BuuPass, a Kenyan startup that digitises travel bookings, to expand its mobility reach. The Zanifu investment flies another flag in the finance sector. Yango is trying to plug itself into everyday African life, from movement to money. Why this matters is that Yango is building a layered presence by knitting together services that connect travel and payments, plus its own offerings, using Kenya as its innovation playground. Uber’s exit in Cote d’Ivoire in September 2025, after six years, leaves Yango with a clearer runway in mobility and adjacent services.
Yango is now positioned to serve small businesses and everyday commuters, stretching the value chain. This duality can mean that Yango has a competitive edge across multiple sectors. In Nigeria, a growing number of businesses are restructuring and consolidating their assets and resources through mergers and acquisitions, with the aim of expanding their market share and complying with recapitalisation requirements set by industry regulators. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (FCCPA) of 2018 oversees Nigerian merger and acquisition proceedings. The regulatory framework governing mergers and acquisitions in Nigeria has experienced a notable shift with the enactment of the Investments and Securities Act 2025 (the “Act”). Nigeria’s corporate scene turned into a hotbed of activity in 2024 with a record-breaking surge in mergers and acquisitions – the highest since 2014. Reports show that the value of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Nigeria reached $3.8 billion in the first nine months of 2024, the highest figure on the continent outside South Africa.
New deals include: Renaissance’s $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Chappal Energies’ $860 million acquisition of TotalEnergies onshore assets, and Seplat’s $800 million acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU).
Regulatory authorities in Africa include: African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which aims to establish a continental regulator to assess merger transactions with a “continental dimension”; regional competition authorities which include the ECOWAS Regional Competition Authority (ERCA) and the East African Community Competition Authority (EACCA). These authorities are playing a more active role in regulating mergers and acquisitions in Africa.
The challenges and opportunities in merger and acquisition in Africa include: Increased regulatory scrutiny, which may pose challenges for cross-border deals, but also presents opportunities for more coordinated and efficient merger control processes; Economic growth – Mergers and acquisitions can drive growth, enhance competitiveness, and facilitate the transfer of skills and technology; Resource nationalism – Countries are seeking to assert greater control over their natural resources, which may impact foreign investors.
Olufemi Adedamola Oyedele, MPhil. in Construction Management, managing director/CEO, Fame Oyster & Co. Nigeria, is an expert in real estate investment, a registered estate surveyor and valuer, and an experienced construction project manager. He can be reached on +2348137564200 (text only) or femoyede@gmail.com
