Airtel Money has announced plans to pursue an IPO on the London Stock Exchange, with the IFC agreeing to invest up to £67.2 million.

Airtel Mobile Commerce N.V. (“Airtel Money”), the mobile financial services arm of Airtel Africa, has announced its intention to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) and list its ordinary shares on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, alongside a cornerstone investment agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC).

The filing marks a significant step for the pan-African fintech platform, which operates across 13 African markets and could become one of London’s largest listings in years, reportedly targeting a deal size of at least $800 million at a valuation in the region of $8–9 billion, though that is below the $1.5–2 billion raise and roughly $10 billion valuation once under discussion.

The IPO had originally been expected in the first half of 2026 before being pushed back amid market volatility linked to the US-Israel-Iran conflict.

What the Offer Involves

The offer will be structured entirely as a secondary sale of existing shares by Airtel Money’s current shareholders, meaning no new capital will be raised by the company itself. Airtel Africa, which currently owns 77.85% of Airtel Money, is expected to remain a long-term strategic shareholder following the listing, retaining a majority stake while supporting the unit’s next phase as an independently listed business.

As part of the announcement, the IFC has agreed to a cornerstone investment of up to £67.2 million (approximately $90 million) in Offer Shares, purchased from existing shareholders at the final offer price, subject to customary conditions.

The offer will be made to qualified institutional buyers in the US under Rule 144A, and to institutional investors elsewhere under Regulation S, with a separate retail offer available exclusively to UK-resident investors through RetailBook’s partner network of investment platforms, brokers and wealth managers. Following listing, the company expects a free float of at least 10%. A prospectus setting out the indicative price range is expected in early October 2026, with the final offer price expected to be announced in mid-October following a book-building process.

Citigroup Global Markets Limited is acting as Sole Sponsor and Lead Left Global Coordinator. Barclays, Merrill Lynch International (BofA Securities), Goldman Sachs Bank Europe and J.P. Morgan Securities are Joint Global Coordinators, with Absa, BNP Paribas, Emirates NBD Capital, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Jefferies and Standard Bank of South Africa serving as additional bookrunners, and BTIG as co-bookrunner.

A Fast-Growing Fintech Platform

Airtel Money was launched in September 2011 within Airtel Africa, itself part of Bharti Enterprises, the Indian conglomerate controlled by billionaire Sunil Mittal. The platform serves approximately 53 million monthly active users as of June 2026, connecting consumers, merchants, agents and enterprises through mobile-led financial services including cash deposits and withdrawals, peer-to-peer and international transfers, bill and merchant payments, micro-loans, savings, insurance and Mastercard-branded virtual cards.

The company’s growth has been substantial: its customer base grew at a 20% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between the year ended March 2018 and the twelve months ended June 2026, while total processed value (TPV) grew at a 33% CAGR over the same period to reach $213 billion. Revenue reached $1.35 billion for the year ended March 2026, up from $990 million the year before, with an EBITDA margin of approximately 50% and a pre-tax cash conversion ratio above 90% in each of the last three financial years. The company has no external borrowings.

Airtel Money operates one of Africa’s largest physical distribution networks, with more than 2.3 million agents and over 43,000 exclusive retail touchpoints as of June 2026, alongside integrations with over 170 banks and more than 8,000 fintech partners onboarded through its open API marketplace.

CEO’s Comments

Ian Ferrao, CEO of Airtel Money, framed the listing as the next phase for the business.

“Today marks the start of a new chapter for Airtel Money as we announce our plans to list on the London Stock Exchange,” Ferrao said, adding that the company’s app-driven strategy and broadening product range would help it capture growth as digital transaction volumes across its footprint are forecast to roughly quintuple by 2031.

He noted that the offer was structured entirely as a sale of existing shares specifically because the underlying business remains debt-free and cash generative, meaning no new capital was needed from the listing itself.

Growth Drivers and Market Opportunity

The company points to substantial headroom in its core markets: only 20–25% of adults across its 13-market footprint have a bank account, compared with roughly 87% in developed markets, and as of 2022 more than 90% of Sub-Saharan African payments were still conducted in cash. More than 75 million Airtel Africa telecom subscribers across the region are not yet Airtel Money customers, representing what the company describes as a substantial pool for continued expansion, telco-subscriber penetration currently sits at 41% overall, but has already surpassed 70% in the platform’s top three markets.

The company’s growth strategy centres on six areas: expanding its customer base among untapped telco subscribers, driving deeper engagement through its smartphone app (where users generate roughly five times the average revenue per user of feature-phone customers), extending its agent and merchant distribution networks, building out enterprise payments, and broadening its product ecosystem into lending, insurance, savings and wealth management — areas where the company disbursed over $1 billion in loans and processed $208 million in savings and wealth TPV in the twelve months to June 2026.

Dividend Policy

Airtel Money said it intends to maintain a minimum total dividend payout ratio of 80% of consolidated net profit after tax, with dividends expected to be paid semi-annually, subject to the board’s discretion and prevailing business and market conditions.

Governance

The announcement also confirmed a newly constituted board ahead of listing, chaired by Arijit Ranjan Sarker, former President of Asia Pacific at Mastercard, who joined as independent Non-Executive Chair in September 2026. The board includes CEO Ian Ferrao; Harjeet Kohli and Jantina van de Vreede as nominees of Bharti Airtel International; Shravin Bharti Mittal, founder of technology investment firm Unbound and Deputy Chair of Airtel Africa; Sunil Taldar, CEO of Airtel Africa; and independent non-executive directors Kamiel Koot, Michiel de Jong, Jeroen Bronsveld and Natalia Wallenberg, drawing on backgrounds spanning banking, hospitality, human resources and fintech entrepreneurship across Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

Outlook

The company said it has continued to trade in line with management’s expectations since July 2026. For the year ending March 2027, Airtel Money is targeting constant currency revenue growth in the mid-20% range, with underlying EBITDA margin expected to moderate slightly, by up to roughly 2 percentage points, due to a revision of intra-group agreements, before returning to above 50% over the medium term. Capital expenditure is expected to remain in the 3–4% of revenue range.

This announcement is not an offer of securities for sale in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa or Japan. Any prospective investment should be made only on the basis of information contained in the formal prospectus, once published.