Airtel Africa taps more bankers for rare London IPO of mobile money business
Flotation could raise around $1.5bn and provide a much-needed boost for the UK’s depressed public markets
Airtel Africa is hiring more investment banks to work on a London listing for its mobile money business, as the telecoms group prepares a rare UK public offering as soon as the second half of this year.
The telecoms group in recent weeks received pitches from several banks looking to join the syndicate for the listing of its money transfer business, with Citi leading work on the deal that could value the unit at roughly $10bn (£7.5bn), according to people familiar with the matter.
At that level, the deal would be the largest new flotation in London since July 2021, when the British fintech Wise was valued at nearly £9bn in a landmark direct listing.
The move to engage with additional bankers in London confirms Airtel has settled on the UK capital as its preferred listing venue for its mobile money business after originally looking to list the business in the Middle East, according to people familiar with the plans.
The IPO could raise about $1.5bn, the people added.
The Airtel Money IPO may provide a much-needed boost for the UK’s depressed public markets, which have increasingly struggled to compete with the US for new flotations while a raft of London-based public companies have been taken over and delisted by private equity firms.
Airtel Africa, which was founded in 2010, is chaired by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal and has grown to become Africa’s second-largest telecoms operator, tapping into the continent’s demand for mobile phones.
The company, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2019, was one of the best-performing stocks in the FTSE 100 last year, enjoying a 178.7 per cent share price rise,
Its Airtel Money arm has thousands of branches and small kiosks across Africa, which allow users to load money on to their phones and withdraw cash. It has over 54mn customers and posted revenues of $1.35bn in 2026.
But plans to list its mobile money business have been repeatedly delayed.
Airtel originally aimed to list the mobile money business by 2025 but in May this year blamed the latest delay on “market conditions”.
It was originally looking at listing on a Middle Eastern exchange, but the company changed track due to geopolitical tensions in the region, according to people familiar with the matter.
Airtel considered other European venues but settled on London because of its international reputation and deep capital markets, according to one person familiar with the company.
Representatives for Citi, Airtel Africa and Airtel Money declined to comment.
The listing would come after several high-profile IPOs were pulled or pushed back because of concerns about market volatility.
These included the €19bn float of software group Visma, roadside recovery group RAC and online travel agent Loveholidays, with advisers blaming factors such as the Iran war and rise of AI for choppy markets.
In total, London has hosted just seven listings in the first half of the year, raising £577.2mn, according to data from professional services company EY. Most of this came from the flotation of a stake in Uzbekistan’s national investment fund, which raised £511mn.