4th Feb 2019 14:11
LONDON (Alliance News) - Airtel Africa, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel International BV, is mulling a USD8 billion float, which has a potential to become the capital's biggest stock market debut in London in two years, Telegraph reported late Saturday.
The mobile telecom listing would be the biggest since AIB Group PLC's GBP12 billion debut on the London Main Market in 2017.
The newspaper said the Indian telecoms tycoon Sunil Mittal, who controls India's second-largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel, has instructed advisers Bank of America Merrill Lynch to finalise the supporting line-up of banks for the share sale, which is expected later this year.
Mittal originally had hoped to raise cash from Airtel Africa this spring, but the float has been delayed by volatility, the newspaper said. With the City facing Brexit uncertainty, the Telegraph said market sources expect the company to debut in the second half of 2019.
Plans for a listing are part of efforts to reduce Bharti Airtel's own debt, according to the Telegraph. Last week the company sealed a USD200 million investment from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, on top of USD1.3 billion raised in October. These cash injections also have reduced Airtel Africa's own borrowings as it prepares to seek institutional backing with an LSE listing.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/02/02/indian-tycoon-dials-6bn-city-float-airtel-africa-empire/
Related Shares:
Aib Group