Airtel Africa's financial services arm, Airtel Money, debuted on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Friday with an offer for sale, raising roughly £529 million through the sale of 270 million existing shares in what is being seen as the largest listing in the bourse in the last five years.
The public listing valued Airtel Mobile Commerce NV, its formal name, at around £5.3 billion, with shares priced at £1.96 apiece, according to a statement released Friday. An Airtel spokesperson said the offer was multiple times oversubscribed attracting strong demand from a broad mix of investors.
Conditional trading of the shares began on Friday with full trading and formal admission to the LSE expected on October 14. During the period, minority shareholders, including Qatar Investment Authority and TPG Inc, sold approximately 270 million shares, with an additional 27 million shares available from minority shareholder MasterCard Asia Pacific through an over-allotment option once it is listed formally on October 14.
During early trading, the shares touched £2 apiece briefly before falling to £1.94, slightly lower than the issue price.
The listing's anchor investor, International Finance Corporation, received an allotment of 34,285,714 shares worth around 67.2 million GBP, while around 8 million shares were allocated to retail investors in the UK.
Airtel Money is a scaled fintech business in Africa, operating across 13 sub-Saharan African markets and serving approximately 53 million monthly active users, with a digital-first model focused on enabling mass financial inclusion.
"I am delighted to welcome the successful listing of Airtel Money on the London Stock Exchange. This listing is a vote of confidence in the UK as an attractive global destination for investment, with a stable business and policy environment attractive for long-term investors," Sunil Mittal, chairman, Bharti Enterprises said in a statement.
The London listing provides access to a deep and institutional investor base, supported by a well-established governance and disclosure framework, the spokesperson added.
