The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has approved Cable Experts Limited’s acquisition of a 68.37 percent controlling stake in East African Cables Plc, clearing a key regulatory hurdle in a transaction aimed at reviving the troubled cable manufacturer.
The approval was published in the Kenya Gazette on October 2, 2026, under Section 46(6)(a)(ii) of the Competition Act. Cable Experts will acquire 173.07 million shares in East African Cables held through Cable Holdings (Kenya) Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of TransCentury Plc.
The transaction was first agreed in May 2026, when Cable Experts signed a share purchase agreement with TransCentury’s court-appointed receivers. The deal is structured as a rescue acquisition and includes the retirement of East African Cables’ existing secured bank debt.
East African Cables has been under administration since June 2025 following financial difficulties and a default on its obligations to Equity Bank. The lender subsequently took control of the company, while trading in East African Cables shares was suspended on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.
East African Cables has been under administration since June 2025
The company is facing secured debt of about KSh1.94 billion, according to reports on the transaction, with the proposed acquisition intended to provide a path for the manufacturer to continue operating as a going concern.
East African Cables was incorporated in 1966 and has built a business around the manufacture of copper and aluminium electrical cables and conductors. Its product portfolio also includes house wiring products, data and fibre-optic solutions and electrical accessories such as switches and sockets.
The company has manufacturing operations in Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, with its products distributed across several East and Central African markets.
Cable Experts, which operates in the electrical cable and conductor business, has said it intends to revive East African Cables and maintain and grow its local workforce as part of the turnaround.
The acquisition also gives Cable Experts control of one of Kenya’s established cable manufacturers at a time when East African Cables remains under administration and its shares remain suspended from trading.
At the time trading was suspended, East African Cables shares were priced at KSh1.71, giving the company a market value of approximately KSh432.8 million. At that price, the 68.37 percent stake would have been worth about KSh295.9 million, although the actual transaction value has not been disclosed.
The CAK approval does not, however, mean the entire transaction has been completed. Cable Experts is also seeking direction from the Capital Markets Authority (CMA) on whether it can be exempted from making a mandatory offer for the remaining 31.63 percent of East African Cables held by minority shareholders.
The buyer has also proposed a pathway for the eventual resumption of trading in East African Cables shares once the acquisition is completed.
For minority shareholders, the next steps will therefore depend on the completion of the acquisition and the outcome of the regulatory processes surrounding the remaining shares and the company’s suspended NSE listing.
For Cable Experts, the CAK clearance brings the company closer to taking control of East African Cables and implementing its proposed turnaround. For East African Cables, the transaction represents a potential route out of administration and back towards normal operations after a prolonged period of financial distress.
