Cable Experts buys 68% of East African Cables in rescue deal
What's the deal? Cable Experts Limited has agreed to acquire TransCentury Plc's entire 68.37% stake in East African Cables (EAC) — roughly 173 million ordinary shares — in a rescue acquisition. The share purchase agreement, dated May 19, 2026, was signed through TransCentury's court-appointed joint receivers. The deal includes retirement of EAC's existing secured bank debt.
Cable Experts is applying to Kenya's Capital Markets Authority (CMA) for exemption from a mandatory takeover offer to minority shareholders.
Why now? EAC has been in financial distress for years. Equity Bank appointed an administrator over US$46.7M in debt owed by TransCentury, EAC's parent company. The CMA and the Nairobi Securities Exchange suspended trading in EAC shares in June 2025 after Equity Bank placed the company under administration, citing unresolved legal and operational uncertainty.
TransCentury itself was placed under receivership. EAC's most recent financials, for the half-year ended June 30, 2025, showed a net loss of US$1.85M — an improvement from US$2.68M a year earlier, but still deep in the red. In April 2026, EAC said it would miss the statutory deadline for its 2025 audited results, pushing publication to October 2026.
What could go wrong? The CMA exemption request is a key risk. If regulators deny it, Cable Experts would be required to make a mandatory offer to all minority shareholders — potentially raising the cost and complexity of the deal. EAC's operational challenges, including ongoing administration and debt restructuring, also remain unresolved.
Trading in EAC shares is still suspended, leaving minority shareholders with no exit option until regulators are satisfied that investor protections are in place.
The signal: EAC is a premier cable manufacturer with four factories across Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, plus a commercial presence in Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. The rescue deal suggests there is strategic value in the company's East and Central African footprint — even if its balance sheet is broken.
Structured rescue acquisitions like this one may become more common in the region as distressed listed companies seek lifelines outside traditional capital markets. For Kenya's bourse, the outcome will test whether the regulatory framework can balance creditor recovery with minority shareholder protection.
Read more: businesstoday.co.ke
