By Esther Abiade
The board of telecommunications giant- Airtel Africa Plc, on Friday, said the rescheduled listing of its 3.76bn ordinary shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) at N363 per share, translating to N1.364tr market capitalisation, may hold on Monday.
Following the IPO from which Airtel Africa raised a total $750m by way of book building, its entire issued shares were listed on the London Stock Exchange, while the postponed listing on the NSE was to have been secondary/cross-border.
Addressing capital market stakeholders during the facts behind the listing of its shares at the NSE, Segun Ogunsanya, chief executive of Airtel Nigeria, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, assured that all procedures necessary for the listing will be completed before then.
The Nigerian listing is expected to enhance domestic participation in the ownership of the company, which is necessary to ensure Airtel Africa meets the pre-listing requirement of 300 shareholders, from its present 78 Nigerian institutional and high net worth investors.
Giving reasons for the rescheduled listing exercise, despite the prior approval by the bourse, chief executive of the NSE, Oscar Onyema said it was to ensure that all pre-listing procedures are followed and completed before the exercise.
He expressed hope that the listing would hold on Monday, once the process is concluded before then.
Ogunsanya promised that the company would adhere to all post listing requirement of the NSE, going forward, just as he promised transparency in all affairs of the company.
Reuters, however, quoted a source at one of the parties to the issue as saying the delay was due to a manual allotment process of transferring the shares to new investors.
While welcoming stakeholders to the event, Onyema said the decision to list the company on the NSE “reaffirms its long-term commitment to expanding opportunities for Nigerians in addition to providing everyday services to them.
“This listing serves to deepen the telecoms and technology sector for investors and provides an opportunity for a wider group of Nigerians to be part of the African telecoms growth story.”
He described the listing as “a promising development in Africa with Airtel Africa being the second company to have its ordinary shares listed on both the London Stock Exchange and the Nigerian Stock Exchange. This gives credence to the successful partnership between the two exchanges and we encourage similarly situated companies to explore the different opportunities for raising capital on the Exchange’s platform. Furthermore, it shows the confidence Airtel Africa has in our platform, which has a total market capitalization of N25.2tr across various asset classes.”
Photo News: From left: Ms. Tinuade Awe, Executive Director, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, OON, Chief Executive Officer, NSE; Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, Managing Director/CEO, Airtel Nigeria; Awuneba Ajumogobia, Member, Airtel Africa Board during the Airtel Africa Plc Facts Before The Listing presentation at the Exchange on the NSE on
Friday, July 5, 2019.
