Gulf African Bank has a new controlling shareholder after Dubai-based Soren Investment Company and Nairobi-incorporated Auron Holdings completed the acquisition of a combined 57.72% stake in Kenya's leading Islamic lender, displacing two of its longest-standing institutional investors.
- •Soren acquired 42.78% of the bank from Al Salam Bank and Istithmar World Limited, while Auron Holdings took 14.94% from the International Finance Corporation.
- •The bank confirmed in a public announcement that all regulatory approvals have been obtained and both transactions have closed.
- •Soren is a DIFC-registered investment holding company incorporated in the UAE in February 2019.
Gulf African Bank, founded in 2005 and operational since 2008, was Kenya's first fully-fledged Sharia-compliant lender. The bank posted a KSh 1.35 billion profit in the year ended December 2024, a 30% increase on the prior year, as total assets grew 6.6% to KSh 44.9 billion and customer deposits rose 5.2% to KSh 35.8 billion. Core capital stood at KSh 8.16 billion, up 19.6%.
Beyond Kenya, Soren holds majority stakes in AGB Sudan and HAB Tanzania, and owns a DIFC-registered fintech focused on digital solutions for financial institutions. The acquisitions point to a deliberate strategy to build a pan-African Islamic banking network anchored in East Africa.
The deal has been in the pipeline since mid-2025. The Competition Authority of Kenya cleared it in a gazette notice published on June 20, 2025, following a formal application filed on May 16. The Central Bank of Kenya, which regulates Gulf African Bank, had also signalled approval.
Auron Holdings is a private limited company incorporated in Kenya and wholly owned by Kenyan investors. The company described the acquisition as part of a long-term portfolio diversification strategy. Its entry replaces the IFC, a multilateral development institution that had held a stake in the bank since its early years.
The remaining shareholders include the Eastern and Southern Trade and Development Bank, GulfCap FZC, Sheikh Abdullah Mohammed Al Romaizan, and other individual investors from Kenya and the Gulf.
