Airtel Money's listing on the London Stock Exchange marks a significant event, the largest flotation in London for five years. The payments processor, operating in 13 African countries, is valued between £6bn and £7bn. However, this listing does not signal a definitive end to London's listings drought.
Airtel Money is a 78%-owned subsidiary of Airtel Africa, an established FTSE 100 firm with a market value of £11.3bn, ultimately controlled by Bharti Enterprises under the Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal. This means the listing was a home fixture for London in the competition with other venues. The Airtel/Bharti collective considered the Middle East, the US, and the rest of Europe, but London was a heavy favorite due to its deep capital pools and investors' enthusiasm for fintech firms and African companies.
Ian Ferrao, the chief executive of Airtel Money, emphasized London's advantages, including its deep capital pools, investors' enthusiasm for fintech firms, and general understanding of African companies. However, the listing was also expected given the close operational link between Airtel Money and Airtel Africa.
Airtel Money has grown out of Airtel Africa's telecoms business and has 75 million potential recruits to expand its user base, on top of the established 53 million monthly active users. The company is capital-lite, converts a chunky proportion of its earnings into cash, and is growing at about 20% a year. This makes it an attractive opportunity for existing shareholders, including minority owners TPG, Mastercard, the Qatar Investment Authority, and Chimetech Holding.
For London, the listings game is about winning high-profile names where the competition from overseas markets is tougher. The biggie remains Norway's Visma, one of Europe's biggest software companies. A listing was delayed earlier this year due to the so-called “Claude crash” – the sell-off in data-related sectors deemed to be under threat from AI tools. Visma's valuation a year ago was put at almost €20bn (£17.2bn), making it a top target. The listing venue for Visma looks to be a shootout between London, Stockholm, and Amsterdam. Winning this listing may signal a more positive outlook for London's pulling power.
