Airtel Submits Listing Application to NSE

• Airtel Submits Listing Application to NSE

Following the successful listing of MTN Nigeria on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Airtel Africa Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd, has filed a similar application with the Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission for the listing of its shares.

The company plans to list simultaneously on both the London Stock Exchange and Nigerian Stock Exchange.

Investors King reports last month that Airtel Africa is looking to raise another fund through an Initial Public Offer (IPO). This was after the company had raised $1.25 billion last year to ease debt burden to $4 billion.

The telecommunication firm has now stated that the London IPO is expected to raise $749.05 million from 595.2 million to 744 million new shares.

The listing, according to Airtel, would put the company’s valuation between 3.01 billion pounds and 3.62 billion pounds.

On NSE listing, Prof Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, said MTN listing encourages other telecommunication companies to list on the nation’s stock market.

“Certainly, having set this precedence now, the stock exchange market is bullish through this listing, we hope all operators will follow suit. We hope they will do this when it is suitable for them to list because they have not committed any offence.”

“We triggered the listing of MTN on the NSE and MTN has complied. I remember issuing warning to MTN to ensure that they comply with the provision of the settlement agreement before May 2019,” the EVC said.

The company continues to attract new customers in Nigeria, gaining 94,472 new internet subscribers in April to take its total subscription to 31.3 million. The second highest internet subscription after MTN’s 50 million.