Airtel Money prices London IPO at £5.3 billion value

Airtel Money, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa ↗ 13.87%, on Thursday set the price for its London initial public offering at £1.96 per share. That values the payments company at about £5.3 billion, or $7 billion, ahead of its planned debut in mid-October. Bloomberg reported that the deal could be London's largest IPO in five years. The PA news agency described it as likely the biggest since fintech Wise floated in 2021.businesstimes+2

Existing shareholders will sell 270 million shares worth about £529 million. A further 27 million shares could be sold through an over-allotment option. Conditional dealing is set to begin on October 9. Unconditional trading on the London Stock Exchange is scheduled to start at 8 a.m. London time on October 14.barrheadnews+2

Who is selling

All the shares on offer already exist, so Airtel Money will not raise any new capital. The money will go to the selling shareholders. According to Business Standard, the sellers include TPG's Rise Fund II Aurora, Qatar Holding, Mastercard ↗ 0.41% and Chimetech. These investors bought minority stakes for a combined $550 million in 2021.techtrendske+1

Airtel Africa will sell shares only through the over-allotment option. The company said it will remain "a long-term strategic shareholder and to support Airtel Money's next phase of growth as an independently listed business". The International Finance Corporation has agreed to be a cornerstone investor, buying up to £67.2 million ($90 million) of shares at the offer price.barrheadnews+1

About 16.5% of the shares are expected to be in public hands after the listing, or about 17.5% if the over-allotment option is used in full. The company says that free float would make it eligible for FTSE UK indices. Institutional orders close at 2 p.m. on October 8. Retail investors living in the UK can apply until 5 p.m. that day, with a minimum of £250.arise+1

A lower valuation than expected

Nigeria's BusinessDay said the valuation is well below the $8 billion to $9 billion range previously reported for the listing. It said this suggests the company chose pricing aimed at attracting demand. The Paypers reported that investors are watching how the business will perform once separated from its telecom parent, after its EBITDA margin fell to 49.1% because of renegotiated service agreements with the telecom division.thepaypers+1

Airtel Money operates in 13 African markets and had 53 million monthly active users as of June 30. It reported revenue of $1.3 billion for the year ended March 2026.business-standard

A test for London

Bloomberg described the offering as the biggest test for London's stock market since IPO volumes fell sharply after the pandemic-era boom. London has seen an IPO drought and a series of companies being bought or moving their listings abroad. Citigroup ↗ 1.18% is sole sponsor. Barclays ↗ 0.30%, BofA Securities, Goldman Sachs The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. ↗ 0.66% and J.P. Morgan are joint global coordinators.businesstimes+2