The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has approved the acquisition of East African Cables by Cable Experts Limited. The decision clears a competition hurdle for a rescue deal that could end a long insolvency fight at one of Kenya’s oldest cable makers.

CAK Director General David Kemei signed the approval under Section 46(6)(a)(ii) of the Competition Act. The Kenya Gazette notice says the authority “has authorized the proposed transaction as set out herein.” The notice is dated August 21, 2026, and appeared in the Gazette on October 2 alongside other approvals. CAK signed the ICEA Lion takeover approval the same day.

East African Cables, listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange as CABL, was incorporated in 1966 and supplied power cables and conductors to utilities and contractors across East and Central Africa. Khusoko reports that it and its parent TransCentury had carried negative net worth since 2017.

The collapse came through the courts. On May 23, 2025, the Court of Appeal dismissed East African Cables’ bid to stop Equity Bank from selling four properties held as security for a Sh2.2 billion debt. Equity Bank then placed TransCentury under receivership and East African Cables under administration, once court orders that had paused the process lapsed.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Muniu Thoithi and George Weru run both processes. They were first appointed on June 16, 2023, and resumed duties on June 19, 2025, after a 90 day extension of the court orders expired. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) and the NSE suspended trading in the shares in June 2025.

Cable Experts signed a share purchase agreement on May 19, 2026, with TransCentury’s receivers. The agreement covers 173,071,149 shares, a 68.37 percent stake that TransCentury holds through Cable Holdings (Kenya) Limited. The deal retires East African Cables’ secured bank debt, and the buyer describes it as a rescue acquisition. Cable Experts has no prior public profile, and the identity of its investors remains unanswered.

The company’s reach explains the interest. It runs factories in Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo, and sells in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan and Ethiopia. The deal is expected to protect operations at a supplier whose products serve construction, energy and infrastructure projects.

CAK clearance does not complete the deal. Cable Experts has applied to the CMA for an exemption from making a mandatory offer to minority holders, who own the remaining 31.63 percent. If the CMA refuses, the buyer would have to offer to buy them out, which would raise the cost.

Shares in East African Cables and TransCentury stay suspended until the transaction and related approvals finish. Cable Experts has said it will seek a pathway for trading to resume after completion.

Source: Khusoko