Highlights
- Airtel Money shares priced at 196p, valuing the business at about £5.3 billion
- It will be London’s biggest flotation since Wise in 2021
- The business has 53 million active monthly users across 13 African countries
- Revenue rose to $1.3bn in the year to March
AIRTEL MONEY has priced its shares at 196p as it prepares to list in London, putting the African mobile payments business at a valuation of about £5.3 billion, reported the Times.
Airtel Africa is controlled by Bharti Airtel, the telecommunications company founded by Indian businessman Sunil Mittal. He also holds just under 25 per cent of UK firm BT.
The flotation will be the largest initial public offering in London since fintech company Wise listed in 2021, despite the price being below the valuation Airtel Money had been targeting.
The company had been expected to seek a valuation of between £6bn and £6.7bn and raise about £600 million.
According to reports, the listing will not raise new money for Airtel Money. Instead, existing investors will sell part of their holdings, while Airtel Africa will remain the majority shareholder.
Conditional trading is expected to begin on October 9, with unconditional trading due to start on October 14.
53 million users
Founded in 2011, Airtel Money provides mobile payment services across 13 African countries. Customers can use the service to load credit on their phones, make payments and withdraw cash through thousands of branches and small kiosks.
The business had 53 million active monthly users at the end of June.
Chief executive Ian Ferrao has described its ambition as becoming the “Revolut of Africa”, comparing the business with the digital banking group that has built a large international customer base.
Airtel Money reported revenue of $1.3bn in the 12 months to the end of March, up from $994m a year earlier. Adjusted earnings rose to $676m from $512m.
Backed by Airtel Africa
Airtel Africa owns just over 77 per cent of Airtel Money. Minority investors including US private equity firm TPG, the Qatar Investment Authority and Mastercard are also selling some shares as part of the flotation.
Airtel Africa had planned to list the payments business last year but delayed the move. In May, it said “market conditions” and geopolitical uncertainty had affected the timing.
Airtel Africa will also be subject to a 180-day lock-up period preventing it from selling its remaining Airtel Money shares.
A test for London
The listing comes as London seeks to attract more large companies to its stock market following several years of weak IPO activity.
There were seven new listings in London during the first half of this year, raising £577m. About £511m of that total came from the listing of Uzbekistan’s national investment fund.
Airtel Africa reported a 25 per cent rise in revenue to $6.4bn and pre-tax profit of $1.4bn for the financial year to March 31. Its shares have also risen strongly, gaining more than 200 per cent last year.
