Airtel Money has set the price for its London stock market debut. Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V., the company behind the mobile money business, will sell shares at £1.96 each.
That puts its market value at about £5.3 billion (roughly $7 billion) when trading starts, which is expected on October 14, 2026, at 08:00 London time. Conditional trading is due to begin by October 9.
The company announced its intention to list on September 23. It says the full prospectus, which holds the financials and risk factors, will be published later today, October 1.
Anyone looking for revenue, profit, or customer numbers will have to wait for that document, because the price announcement contains none of them.
Existing shareholders are selling 270 million shares. At the offer price, that is possibly about £529 million. A further 27 million shares can be sold if banks use an over-allotment option, which would take the total to 297 million shares, or about £582 million.
The announcement describes only sales of existing shares and does not mention any new shares being issued.
Airtel Africa, one of the existing shareholders, is not selling anything except through that over-allotment option. The company says it expects to stay on as a long-term strategic shareholder.
The International Finance Corporation has agreed to buy up to £67.2 million (about $90 million) of shares from existing holders at the offer price. This is a cornerstone commitment, meaning a big investor has signed up before the offer closes.
How Much the Public Gets
Only a small slice will be in public hands. The company expects about 16.5% of its shares to be held by the public, rising to about 17.5% if the over-allotment option is used in full. It says that free float should be enough to qualify for the FTSE UK indices.
Who Can Buy
- Institutions: The offer goes to institutional investors in the UK and outside the US, and to qualified institutional buyers in the US under a rule that exempts the sale from US registration. There is no public offering in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or Japan. Institutions have until 2:00 PM London time on October 8 to register interest.
- UK retail investors: Individuals who live in and are physically in the UK can apply through investment platforms, brokers and wealth managers in the RetailBook network, but only if those firms choose to take part. The minimum is £250.
The retail offer opens after the prospectus is published and closes at 5:00 PM London time on October 8.
Lock-Ups
Nobody connected to the company can sell right away. The company and its existing shareholders are barred from selling for 180 days after listing. Directors face a longer wait of 365 days. All three lock-ups have exceptions, which the prospectus spells out.
The Banks
Twelve banks are working on the deal. Citigroup Global Markets is sole sponsor, lead left global coordinator and a joint bookrunner. Barclays, Merrill Lynch International, Goldman Sachs Bank Europe and J.P. Morgan are joint global coordinators.
Absa, BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Jefferies and Standard Bank are joint bookrunners, and BTIG is co-bookrunner.
Citi also acts as a stabilizing manager. For 30 days after conditional trading starts, it can buy shares to support the price if it falls, using the over-allotment option to cover its position. It cannot push the price above £1.96, and the announcement says it is under no obligation to do any of this.
The announcement says there is no guarantee the listing will go ahead. The details can change before the prospectus comes out, and the share price can fall as well as rise after trading begins.
The announcement itself is a regulatory advertisement and is not an offer of shares, so anyone weighing an investment is directed to the prospectus instead.
