Airtel Money sets £5.3bn valuation ahead of London listing
Airtel Money has set the price of its London initial public offering at £1.96 ($2.59) per share, putting the mobile money business at a valuation of £5.3 billion ($7 billion) before it begins trading on October 14, a regulatory filing showed on Thursday.
It is the first time the market will assign a public value to the unit that has grown fastest within Airtel Africa, following years in which mobile money became central to the group's financial performance. The $7 billion figure nonetheless sits below the $8–9 billion range that was reported at the time the listing was announced, and the bulk of the money raised will go to existing shareholders rather than to Airtel Africa or Airtel Money itself.
The float provides investors with a price for a business that handles more than $245 billion in annualised transactions, and offers early backers a way to realise part of their holdings while Airtel Africa keeps its strategic stake.
In September, Airtel Money had been expected to raise about $800 million. Under the current plan, 270 million existing shares will be sold at £1.96 ($2.59) each, bringing in £529.2 million ($698.54 million), with a further 27 million shares potentially available through an over-allotment option.
"Airtel Africa is not expected to sell existing Airtel Money shares in the Offer other than pursuant to the over-allotment option and is expected to remain a long-term strategic shareholder and to support Airtel Money's next phase of development as an independently listed business," the company said.
After admission, roughly 16.5% of shares are expected to be held by the public, a figure that would rise to about 17.5% if the over-allotment option is taken up in full. The company expects the resulting free float to qualify it for inclusion in FTSE UK indices.
For Airtel Africa, the listing establishes a second publicly traded benchmark for a business whose contribution to group economics has steadily increased. As of June 2026, Airtel Money counted 56.5 million customers, recorded annualised transactions of $245 billion and posted quarterly revenue of $404 million.
Based on Reuters data from Dealogic, the IPO is set to be London's biggest since Fermi's dual listing in September 2025. Although the base offering is smaller than the roughly $800 million deal that had been anticipated, it remains a notable event for a market that has found it difficult to draw large new listings.
Among the sellers are minority investors including TPG-backed Rise Fund II Aurora, Qatar Holding, Mastercard and Chimetech, according to Reuters.
Airtel Money plans to trade on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, with admission expected on October 14, 2026.
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