Airtel Africa Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd, said on Tuesday it was considering a stock market flotation in London to reduce existing debt. The telecom operator last year raised $1.25 billion from six global investors including SoftBank Group Corp, Warburg Pincus LLC and Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd, valuing the company at $4.4 billion.
It is looking to trade on the main market of the London Stock Exchange, using its premium listing segment, and sell 25 percent of new shares. 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 Inc, BofA Merrill Lynch, Absa Group Limited, Barclays Bank PLC, HSBC, BNP Paribas, Goldman Sachs International and Standard Bank Group Ltd as advisers. Reuters
