Investors associated with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Lamu Governor Issa Timamy have agreed to pay Sh3 billion to acquire Absa’s majority shareholdings in two Kenyan insurers.

First Assurance Investments Limited will purchase Absa’s 63.3 percent stake in both Absa Life Assurance Kenya and First Assurance Kenya, valuing the combined equity at roughly Sh4.74 billion.

The transaction is subject to approval by the Competition Authority of Kenya, which must assess any competition concerns before the sale can be completed.

Absa announced the intended sale in August, confirming the Sh3 billion price tag for the two insurers.

First Assurance Investments is owned by Exclusive Holding Limited (47.5 percent, linked to Governor Timamy) and Syndicate Nominees (52.5 percent, linked to Mudavadi).

Mudavadi has publicly disclosed ownership of Syndicate Nominees and holds a 21.26 percent interest in First Assurance Kenya through his investment vehicles.

The deal reverses a 2015 transaction in which Mudavadi‑ and Timamy‑linked investors sold the same stakes to Barclays Africa (now Absa) for Sh2.2 billion.

Absa’s broader strategy involves shifting to a bancassurance model, disposing of direct insurance holdings in several African markets while retaining distribution partnerships through its banking network.

Absa Life Assurance Kenya is among the country’s leading life insurers, while First Assurance Kenya, founded in 1930 as Prudential Assurance Company, operates as a general insurer with deep market roots.

If approved, the buy‑back will restore majority Kenyan ownership of the two insurers, aligning them with investors who previously held the assets before the 2015 sale.