Airtel Africa has revived plans to spin off and publicly list its fast-growing mobile money business, choosing London over the Middle East for an initial public offering (IPO) that could value the unit at about $10 billion and raise around $1.5 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
The move marks a renewed push by the telecommunications group after repeated delays to the listing and signals growing confidence that market conditions are improving enough to support one of the biggest global IPOs of the year.
The flotation, expected as early as the second half of 2026, would also provide a significant boost to London’s struggling capital markets, which have faced stiff competition from New York for major listings.
People familiar with the plans said Airtel Africa has recently invited more investment banks to join the syndicate managing the IPO, with Citi already leading the transaction. The additional appointments suggest preparations for the listing have entered a more advanced stage after months of uncertainty.
The company had initially planned to list Airtel Money by 2025 but postponed the exercise several times, most recently citing unfavourable market conditions. It had also explored listing the business on a Middle Eastern exchange before abandoning the plan because of geopolitical tensions in the region.
Instead, Airtel Africa settled on London, attracted by the city’s deep capital markets, broad international investor base and established reputation as a global financial centre.
If completed at the expected valuation, the IPO would become London’s largest new listing since British fintech company Wise debuted in 2021 with a valuation of nearly £9 billion, highlighting the scale of investor interest Airtel hopes to attract.
The planned listing also reflects the growing importance of mobile money businesses within African telecommunications companies. Once viewed as complementary services, digital financial platforms are increasingly becoming high-growth businesses that command valuations comparable to standalone fintech firms.
Airtel Money has expanded rapidly across Africa, building thousands of agent outlets and kiosks that enable customers to deposit, transfer and withdraw cash using their mobile phones. The platform now serves more than 54 million customers and generated $1.35 billion in revenue in 2026, underlining the rising demand for digital financial services across the continent.
For Airtel Africa, unlocking the value of Airtel Money through a separate listing could help investors better appreciate the strength of its fintech operations, which have often been overshadowed by its core telecommunications business.
The listing would also come at a crucial time for London’s stock market. IPO activity has remained subdued this year as market volatility, geopolitical tensions and investor caution forced several high-profile companies to delay or cancel their listing plans. Only a handful of companies have floated on the London Stock Exchange in the first half of 2026, making Airtel Money’s planned IPO a potentially landmark transaction.
Airtel Africa, which operates across 14 African countries and is chaired by Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, has been one of the London Stock Exchange’s strongest-performing companies over the past year. Its shares rose nearly 179 per cent last year as investors responded positively to improving earnings and stronger performance from its mobile money business.
The planned IPO is expected to test global investor appetite for African fintech assets while reinforcing mobile money as one of the continent’s fastest-growing digital economy sectors. If successful, the transaction could encourage more African technology and financial services businesses to consider international listings despite recent market volatility.
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