Airtel weighs rare US dollar pricing for London IPO of Money unit
Airtel Africa’s plan to take Airtel Money public in London has entered a new phase, with the company now considering whether the shares should trade in US dollars instead of British pounds.
The proposal is still under discussion, would make the Airtel Money London IPO one of the few London listings priced in dollars and could help align the business more closely with the currency it already uses for financial reporting.
Airtel Africa is also expanding the group of banks working on the deal, bringing in firms from Africa and the Middle East as preparations continue for a listing later this year.
Why Airtel is considering a dollar listing
Although companies listed on the London Stock Exchange typically price their shares in pounds, Airtel Africa is weighing a different approach because the group already reports its financial results in US dollars. That could make the company easier to compare with international peers and reduce currency translation issues for investors who already value African telecom and fintech businesses in dollars.
The discussions remain private, and Airtel has not confirmed that the dollar structure has been approved.
The latest development follows months of preparation around the separation of Airtel Money as a standalone business. Earlier reporting by TechTrendsKE showed Airtel reviving plans for the London IPO after previous delays, while also making leadership changes within Airtel Money Kenya, where Bonke Michael stepped in as acting managing director following Anne Kinuthia’s departure.
An uncommon move in London
Dollar-denominated listings are rare on the London Stock Exchange, which makes Airtel’s proposal stand out even before pricing discussions begin.
The company also appears to be broadening its investor outreach by adding African and Middle Eastern banks to the IPO syndicate. That could help attract regional institutional investors alongside the traditional London-based funds that typically participate in large public offerings.
For Airtel, the move fits the profile of a business whose operations stretch across multiple African markets rather than a company tied to a single domestic currency.
Airtel Money enters the IPO with scale
The mobile money business is approaching the public markets with numbers that already place it among Africa’s largest fintech platforms.
Airtel Money processes about $210 billion in transactions annually and serves 52 million customers across the continent, while Airtel Africa recently reported 29.5 percent revenue growth for the group.
Those figures help explain why Airtel has been preparing the unit for a standalone valuation instead of keeping it viewed solely as part of its telecommunications business.
The wider play for global investors
For markets such as Kenya, where Airtel Money competes with Safaricom’s M-PESA, the proposed listing is less about changing how customers use the service and more about how the business is valued internationally.
Customers will continue making transactions in local currencies, but a dollar-denominated listing would shape how global investors buy and price shares in the company. Combined with the broader banking syndicate and earlier organisational changes around the business, Airtel appears to be positioning the IPO to attract a wider pool of capital as it takes one of Africa’s largest mobile money platforms to the public market.
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