“We have surpassed the minimum success threshold of 50% set out in the prospectus and also  met the minimum shareholder’s requirement of 1,000 to list on the Main Investment Market Segment of the Nairobi Stock Exchange.  In addition, we have met the minimum shareholding requirement that at least 25% of the shares in the company be held by not less than 1,000 shareholders and that at least 40% of the Offer Shares are allotted to local investors” said Ashford- Hodges. 
 
The Chairman went on to say: “The shares reserved for retail investors and for employees, agents, and policyholders both recorded oversubscription; however, international and institutional investors did not take up their allocations fully. The high take-up by retail investors shows the strength of the British-American brand amongst East African investors. We now have over 28,000 shareholders and are very grateful for the support our local investors have given us”.
“The positive market reception clearly demonstrates local investor confidence in the Group’s long-term value proposition. We are also happy that several institutional and international investors also responded, though not to the levels we expected,” he added.
The offer which opened on July 12th and closed on August 5th sought to raise Ksh5.85 billion by floating 650,000,000 new ordinary shares at an offer price of Ksh9 (nine) per share.
“A 60 percent subscription is a commendable outcome in the light of what is currently happening in the financial markets. It was unfortunate that the US debt crisis escalated right in the middle of the offer period, causing loss of appetite amongst institutional investors especially those outside Kenya. Even though the offer has not been fully subscribed, we have surpassed the minimum success threshold of 50% set in the prospectus” said Ashford- Hodges.
Commenting on the outcome, Group Managing Director Benson Wairegi said “the level of subscription will still enable us to meet the strategies of the Group”.
 
“We are very bullish about our prospects. Our strategy is on course and the Board of Directors will now have to prioritise on some of our projects and the timing for their implementation. The IPO has given us the opportunity to increase the scope of our operations and widen our footprint across the East African region. Locally, we now have the resources to tap the economic potential nascent in the newly created counties as earlier planned. Our balance sheet is even stronger and we should not have any problems financing the high value projects we had envisaged,” said Mr Wairegi.
 
“Through this  listing, British-American, has reached a significant milestone in its long history in Kenya” he concluded. 

The local Retail investors pool was over oversubscribed by Ksh.736,587,900 while Staff, Agents, Policy holders category was oversubscribed by Ksh. 5,850,000
 
About British-America Investments Company (Kenya) Limited:
 
British-American is a leading financial services group incorporated in Kenya under the Companies Act as a private limited liability company, and is domiciled in Kenya.   Its largest shareholder is the British-American Investment Co. (Mtius) Ltd, a financial services company with presence in the UK, Mauritius, Malta and Kenya.
 
British-American is the holding company of British-American Insurance Company (Kenya) Limited, British-American Asset Managers Limited and Britam Insurance Company (Uganda) Limited.
 
The Group offers a wide range of products to individuals, small businesses, corporations and government entities. The range of products includes life insurance, pensions, health insurance, and general insurance through its insurance arm of the business, while financial solutions which include, unit trusts, investment planning, wealth management, off-shore investments, retirement planning and discretionary portfolio management are offered through its asset management business. In addition, the company also carries out property development.
 
Britam Insurance Company (Uganda) Limited, underwrites both general and life insurance.
 
The Group also owns strategic stakes of 11.05 % and 16.56% in Equity Bank Limited and Housing Finance respectively.