Airtel Money, the mobile money arm of Airtel Africa, began unconditional trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market on Wednesday under the ticker AMC, after an IPO priced at £1.96 ($2.60) a share, valuing the business at about £5.3bn ($7bn).
The offer consisted entirely of existing shares, so the company received none of the money. PA Media, the UK’s national news agency, reported that existing shareholders sold 270 million shares for around £529 million ($700 million), calling it London’s biggest float in five years and what it believes is the first large African fintech to list on a global stock exchange.
The sellers were TPG-backed Rise Fund II Aurora, Qatar Holding, Mastercard, and Chimetech, which invested a combined $550 million in 2021 at a valuation of about $2.65bn.
Airtel Africa, which owns 77.85% of the business, did not sell in the main offer and said it will remain a long-term shareholder, participating only through the over-allotment option. The International Finance Corporation (IFC) anchored the deal and was allocated 34,285,714 shares worth £67.2 million ($90 million), according to Angel One.
The debut has been muted so far. Shares rose as high as £2 ($2.66) when conditional trading began on October 9, then slipped to £1.94 ($2.58) within the first hour, even as other reports said the offer was oversubscribed.
The final valuation also came in below the $8bn to $9bn that institutional investors had earlier estimated.
The business itself is growing as revenue rose 36% to $1.35bn in the year to March 31, 2026, with a net income of $373 million, which puts the IPO price at about 19 times its profit. Airtel Money has about 53 million monthly active users across 13 African markets, processed $213bn in the 12 months to June 30, and runs an EBITDA margin of around 50%.
Selling shareholders are barred from selling more shares for 180 days and directors for 365 days, and the company expects its free float of about 16.5% to qualify it for FTSE UK indices.