Airtel Money Plans London Listing, With IFC Signed Up as Cornerstone Investor

Airtel Money, the mobile financial services arm of Airtel Africa, has announced plans for an initial public offering on the London Stock Exchange. The company, formally Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V., operates in 13 African markets and serves about 53 million monthly active users. A secondary offer with an anchor investor The offer will consist entirely of existing shares sold by current shareholders, so the company itself will raise nothing. The International Finance Corporation has agreed to buy up to £67.2 million (about $90 million) of shares at the final offer price, subject to customary conditions. Institutional investors in the US (under Rule 144A) and elsewhere can take part, and UK retail investors can subscribe through the RetailBook platform network. The company expects a free float of at least 10% after admission. The prospectus, with the price and size ranges, is expected in early October 2026, and the final price in mid-October. The company may still decide not to proceed. Citigroup is sole sponsor and lead left global coordinator, alongside a syndicate that includes Barclays, BofA, Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan. The business Airtel Money launched in 2011 and connects consumers, merchants, businesses and agents. It offers cash deposits and withdrawals, transfers, bill payments and salary disbursements, plus loans, savings, insurance and Mastercard virtual cards in some markets. Key figures cited by the company:

• Revenue: $1,346 million in the year to 31 March 2026, up from $836 million two years earlier
• EBITDA: $676 million, a margin of about 50%
• Total processed value: $213 billion over the twelve months to 30 June 2026
• Cash conversion: above 90% before tax in each of the last three years
• Balance sheet: no external borrowings, with capex at 3% of revenue
• Network: over 2.3 million agents, 490,000 merchants and 3,700 enterprises

The company says the ecosystem lifted its customer base at a 20% annual rate since 2018, and its revenue and EBITDA have grown at 32% and 40% annually in dollar terms over the same period. Ownership Airtel Africa, a FTSE 100 constituent, holds 77.85% and is expected to stay a long-term strategic shareholder. TPG, Mastercard, the Qatar Investment Authority and Chimetech bought minority stakes for $550 million in 2021. The growth case Management points to structural tailwinds. Only 20–25% of adults in its markets have a bank account, against about 87% in developed markets, and over 90% of Sub-Saharan payments were made in cash in 2022. Its footprint's GDP is forecast to grow 6.5% a year in dollar terms through 2030. Airtel Money has reached only 41% of Airtel Africa's 128.9 million telco subscribers, leaving more than 75 million potential customers. Its strategy centres on:

• Converting those subscribers
• Pushing app adoption (app users generate roughly five times the ARPU of feature-phone users)
• Expanding agents and merchants
• Building enterprise payments
• Broadening products such as lending and savings

Dividends and near-term outlook The company aims for a payout of at least 80% of net profit attributable to owners, paid semi-annually, though this is not guaranteed. For the year to March 2027, it targets constant-currency revenue growth in the mid-20% range and expects underlying EBITDA margin to dip by up to about 2 percentage points, both due to revised intra-group agreements. Over the medium term it aims to return margins to 50% or higher. Current trading since 1 July is described as in line with expectations. CEO Ian Ferrao said the listing "will underpin our next wave of growth," citing an expected fivefold rise in regional digital transaction volumes by 2031.