Airtel Africa Plc has announced plans for its mobile money subsidiary, Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V., also known as Airtel Money, to pursue an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and seek admission to trading on the London Stock Exchange.
The company disclosed this in a statement signed by its Group Company Secretary, Simon O’Hara, and released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
According to the statement, the proposed IPO would involve the sale of existing Airtel Money shares held by current shareholders rather than the issuance of new shares.
This means Airtel Money would not raise new capital through the proposed offering.
The statement explained that the transaction would take the form of a secondary offering, with existing shareholders selling their Airtel Money shares.
Airtel Africa currently beneficially owns 77.85 per cent of Airtel Money’s issued ordinary share capital. The company said it expects to remain a long-term strategic shareholder following the proposed admission and support Airtel Money’s next phase of development as an independently listed business.
The announcement also contains information on Airtel Money’s operations, strategy and financial performance, including its current trading position and outlook.
However, Airtel Africa stressed that the proposed transaction remains subject to change and that the company could ultimately decide not to proceed with the IPO.
“Airtel Money may decide not to proceed, and there is no guarantee that a prospectus will be published, the IPO will be completed or the shares will be admitted to trading,” the statement said.
The proposed listing would therefore depend on further steps and decisions before Airtel Money could be admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange.
