Vodacom has reportedly completed acquisition of an additional 20% stake in Safaricom, pushing its ownership to about 55. Rock Investment Bank, on the other hand, has become the majority owner of Nabo Capital after acquiring a 60% stake in Centum Investment Company.
The term “acquisition” features prominently in Kenya’s business media, given the increased rate of mergers and acquisition in East Africa’s biggest economy. While it is a commonly used term, acquisition can be a slippery word especially if used loosely.
By definition, an Acquisition, is a deal transaction in which one company acquires the rights to another company’s assets or the entire business by buying shares.
Shares can be paid for in cash, in a share-for-share exchange, or through a leveraged buyout. An acquisition is a term that describes the transfer of ownership from one party to another, according to M&A Institute.
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The main difference between the technical terms ‘merger’ and ‘acquisition’ is that after an acquisition, we will still observe two separate entities, unlike in a merger, when two or more companies combine to operate under one new entity. Even when the acquirer buys most of the target’s shares, hence gaining majority ownership & control, the two companies are still usually kept as separate entities.
Business acquisition means the legal and financial transaction in which one party (the buyer / acquirer) takes ownership of an operating business from another party (the seller / target). It’s also called an ‘acquisition,’ ‘buyout,’ ‘takeover,’ or ‘M&A transaction.’
In US lower-middle-market 2026 practice, business acquisitions are typically structured as either Asset Purchase Agreements (APA, where the buyer purchases selective business assets and leaves certain liabilities behind) or Stock Purchase Agreements (SPA, where the buyer takes full equity ownership including all assets and liabilities). The acquirer can be a private equity (PE) platform, a strategic acquirer (operator), a family office, a search fund / ETA buyer, an independent sponsor, or an individual entrepreneur.
Types of Acquisitions
In an asset purchase, the target company will transfer the rights of ownership of its assets to the acquirer. These assets can be tangible, as in real and physical items such as property, plant and equipment, or intangible, such as patents and trademarks.
A business purchase involves purchasing an entire business or division of the target company and the buyer obtaining the rights of ownership of all assets and liabilities of that division. Of course, the acquirer will also obtain the division’s customer base after purchasing, which is one of the key motives for this activity.
A share purchase is when the buyer acquires a target company’s shares directly from the shareholders in exchange for an agreed-upon payment. The portion of shares that can be purchased lies between 0% to 100%, only if the current shareholders agree to sell.
Suppose a share acquirer holds a level of ownership that allows them to control the company, or they acquire at least 50% of the target company’s shares. In this case, we say they have majority control and therefore have the most power over the company.
There are numerous reasons why one company may want to acquire another. These include overcoming entry barriers, obtaining new resources, reducing competition and as a high-profit investment opportunity.
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