Airtel Mobile Commerce, which trades as Airtel Money, said early today that it intends to list on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market via a sale of existing shares. Airtel Africa (LON: AAF), the FTSE 100 telecoms and mobile-money operator, owns 77.85% of the unit and will remain a long-term strategic shareholder after the listing.
Airtel Africa shares closed at 312.00p on Tuesday, down from 356.60p a week earlier, against a 52-week range of 218.96p to 436.16p. The announcement landed this morning, after Tuesday’s close, so there is no confirmed share-price reaction to it yet; the prior week’s decline predates the news and its cause is unverified.
The offer is entirely secondary, meaning Airtel Africa raises no new capital and the free float will be at least 10% of Airtel Money’s shares after admission. Citigroup is sole sponsor and lead global coordinator, alongside Barclays, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan as joint global coordinators and bookrunners. The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private-investment arm, has agreed a cornerstone commitment of up to £67.2m. A prospectus is expected in early October, with pricing due in mid-October.
Airtel Money’s scale explains the interest: revenue grew from $836m in the 2024 financial year to $1,346m in the year to March 2026, with EBITDA, earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, rising to $676m, a margin of roughly 50%. The service now serves about 53 million monthly active users across 13 African markets through more than 2.3 million agents. Airtel Africa’s chief executive had already flagged an intended 2026 listing on a July earnings call.
We are approaching this from a position of financial strength. The business is debt-free, capital-light and highly cash generative, which is why this Offer consists solely of shares sold by existing shareholders and no new capital is being raised.
Ian Ferrao, Airtel Money
For shareholders in Airtel Africa, the float carries no dilution but sets up a separate market price for a business that has grown revenue by more than 60% over the past two financial years, with the offer’s final pricing due next month.