Telecommunications and mobile money services giant- Airtel Africa Plc, on Wednesday announced plans by its mobile money subsidiary- Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V. for an initial public offering (IPO) and to apply for admission of its ordinary shares on the Official List of the Financial Conduct Authority and to trading on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange.
According to a notice on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on which it is also listed, Aitel Africa with 77.85% stake in Airtel Money’s issued ordinary share capital, said “the proposed IPO would comprise a secondary offering of existing Airtel Money shares to be sold by existing Airtel Money shareholders, with no new capital being raised by Airtel Money.”
Following the IPO, which Reuters says, citing a source close to the matter, could fetch about $800 million, making it London’s largest IPO since 2021, quoting Mergermarket. This is expected to give Airtel Money a market capitalisation of between $8 billion and $9 billion, Airtel Africa expects to remain a long-term strategic shareholder and to support Airtel Money’s next phase of development as an independently listed business.
Minority shareholders expected to participate in the IPO include major global institutions like Mastercard, TPG, the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), and Chimetech Holding.
Reuters also reports that the Airtel Money IPO could be one of London’s biggest initial public offerings in recent years, marking a potential turning point for the market after a what it termed a prolonged slowdown in new listings, potentially providing a much-needed boost for London’s stock market, which has been shrinking over the past decade as companies have moved away for higher valuations, prompting Britain’s financial regulator to simplify listing rules to make it more attractive..
However, details including the indicative price range and number of shares to be offered are expected to be disclosed in early October, with final pricing in mid-October, the company said on Wednesday.
“London has not had a $1 billion-plus IPO since 2021, so the deal would undoubtedly be a positive for the exchange,” Samuel Kerr said at M&A analytics platform Mergermarket.
On completion, the secondary offering of existing shares, gives Airtel Money a free float of at least 10%.
Airtel Money had initially targeted a listing in the first half of 2026 but postponed it to the second half, citing unfavourable market conditions tied to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
“I think we’ve got relatively good market conditions. Yes, there’s some volatility right now, but if you look at a lot of the indexes, they are performing (well),” Airtel Money Chief Executive Ian Ferrao told Reuters.
“When it comes down to it, London has deep capital available … Our brand is well known, and that’s probably made it easier for us to walk into London and to talk to all of the investors,” Ferrao told Reuters.
“We believe in London and I think it’s going to be a good home for us.”
Airtel Money reportedly generated $1.35 billion in revenue for the financial year ended March 2026, with an underlying EBITDA of $689 million, while reporting a 38% revenue growth to $531 million (£399 million) in the first quarter ended June 30, 2026.
