Airtel Money Commerce NV has filed for an initial public offering in London in what could be the largest listing the city has seen in five years.
The mobile payments firm, part of Airtel Africa Plc, is considering listing on the London Stock Exchange, allowing existing investors to sell, the company said on Wednesday. Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal's Bharti Enterprises Ltd owns a majority of the shares.
The deal is expected to raise at least $800 million, roughly half what the company was said to have targeted earlier this year, but that would still make it the largest offering in the UK since 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That would be welcome news for London's equities market, which has experienced a prolonged drought of first-time share sales.
More details of Airtel Money's offering, including deal size and price range, are expected to be published in early October, with the final offer price expected in the middle of the month, the statement showed. The World Bank Group's private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, has agreed to buy $90 million of the shares on sale.
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Airtel Money operates a range of branches and kiosks across Africa that are used to pay utility bills, arrange microloans and buy goods, according to its website. It processed $213 billion in the twelve months through June, with about 53 million monthly active users, the company said in the statement. East Africa is by far its largest customer base, with a strong following also present in Nigeria and French-speaking Africa, company data show.
The announcement comes after the Financial Conduct Authority changed its rules earlier this year to expedite IPO processes by a week, in a bid to make the UK market more competitive. Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar cited London's emerging-market investor base and understanding of fintech and payments as reason for choosing the city as a listing location, in a conference call following first-quarter results.
London IPOs have raised less than $700 million so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, with the listing of Uzbek national investment fund UzNIF making up the bulk of the volume. Airtel Money's offering would help bring the tally above the billion-dollar mark. Other companies including wealth manager Utmost Group Plc are also weighing IPOs before the end of the year.
Citigroup Inc., Barclays Plc, Bank of America Corp., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are arranging the offering.
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