Airtel Money to list in London, but listings drought not over yet
African payments firm Airtel Money is set to list on the London Stock Exchange with a valuation of £6-7bn, though analysts say it doesn't yet signal a real turnaround for London's IPO market.
Airtel Money, a payments processor operating across 13 African countries, is preparing for what would be London's biggest stock market flotation in five years, with an expected valuation of between £6bn and £7bn.
The company is a 78%-owned subsidiary of Airtel Africa, a FTSE 100 firm valued at £11.3bn and ultimately controlled by Bharti Enterprises, the Indian conglomerate led by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, who also holds a 25% stake in BT.
Why London won
Because its parent company Airtel Africa already trades in London — and was one of the FTSE's top performers last year — London stood as the natural, convenient choice, even though the Middle East, the US and other European markets were also considered. Airtel Money chief executive Ian Ferrao pointed to London's deep capital pools, investor enthusiasm for fintech, and strong understanding of African companies as key reasons for the choice.
Airtel Africa is expected to remain the largest shareholder for years to come, and the two businesses remain closely linked operationally. Airtel Money grew out of Airtel Africa's telecoms operations, and one of its main growth levers is converting more phone customers into payments users. The service already counts 53 million monthly active users, with 75 million more potential customers still to be reached.
A growth story
Airtel Money requires little capital, converts a large share of earnings into cash, and is growing at roughly 20% a year. Because no new equity is being raised, the listing is essentially a chance for existing shareholders — including TPG, Mastercard, the Qatar Investment Authority and Chimetech Holding — to sell down part of their stakes.
For London, the bigger prize remains Norway's software company Visma, whose listing was delayed earlier this year amid a sell-off in data-related sectors linked to AI risk, sometimes referred to as the "Claude crash." The venue for Visma's listing is still being contested between London, Stockholm and Amsterdam.
