Airtel Africa seeks a listing on the London Stock Exchange as the Bharti Airtel subsidiary explores means to reduce its debt and get more funding.
In 2018, the telecommunications player raised $1.25 billion in private equity from six global investors. Amongst those investors, are SoftBank Group Corporstion, Warburg Pincus LLC and Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd. It is now valued at $4.4 billion.
The company plans to sell 25 percent of new shares and is looking to trade on the main market of the London Stock Exchange. A premium listing meets more stringent rules than the European Union’s minimum requirements. It also seeks to list on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Airtel operates in 14 African markets including Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Uganda and Zambia. The company has appointed JP Morgan, Citigroup Incorporated, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Absa Group Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs International and Standard Bank Group Limited as advisers.