The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has authorised First Chartered Securities Capital Limited to acquire sole control of ICEA LION Insurance Holdings Limited. The decision moves LeapFrog Investments, which holds a 24.1% stake through a partnership with Prudential Financial, closer to leaving the insurer.
Director-General David Kemei signed Gazette Notice No. 15918 on 21 August 2026 under section 46(6) of the Competition Act. The notice says the authority “has authorized the proposed transaction as set out herein.” It does not state the price or any conditions.
Who owns ICEA LION now
First Chartered Securities, controlled by the family of former Central Bank of Kenya governor Philip Ndegwa, holds 75.9% of the holding company. The remaining shares sit with Eastern Africa Holdings Limited, a UK entity owned by LeapFrog Strategic Africa Investments (LSAI). LeapFrog and Prudential set up LSAI in 2016 as a $350 million fund.
ICEA LION’s subsidiaries cover life insurance, general insurance and asset management in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. If the deal closes, First Chartered would hold all the shares.
How Prudential’s exit unfolded
Prudential disclosed in its latest business update that it agreed in January 2026 to sell its 24% interest, as Khusoko reported. The company said closing remained “subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions,” according to a filing quoted by Business Daily.
Prudential told investors the sale forms part of a plan to redeploy capital into higher return opportunities. It also said the holding did not contribute significantly to the operating results of its International Businesses segment. LSAI valued the position at $142 million at December 2024.
Neither Prudential nor LeapFrog has disclosed the sale price. Business Daily reported that Prudential acquired the stake from the Ndegwa family for Sh2.4 billion. That figure is the original purchase price, not the price of the exit.
What the approval leaves open
The notice settles the competition review. It does not confirm that the sale has closed or say whether other regulators must still clear it. ICEA LION operates insurers in three countries, so supervisors in Uganda and Tanzania may also have a role. The parties have not published a completion date.
LeapFrog has followed the same pattern before: it buys into African financial firms, holds them for several years and sells. The ICEA LION exit would end that holding after about five years.
