Airtel Money begins London trading at £5.3bn valuation in largest IPO in five years
African mobile payments firm Airtel Money started conditional trading on the London Stock Exchange on 9 October at £1.96 a share, valuing it at about £5.3bn. It is London's biggest listing in five years, though shares edged back after a muted start.
1 / 2
The story, neutrally told
Mixed · 2Airtel Money, the African mobile payments business, began trading on the London Stock Exchange on Friday 9 October, with its shares priced at £1.96 and the company valued at about £5.3bn. City A.M.RC “The mobile payments firm has priced its shares at £1.96 apiece, which is expected to hand it a price tag of around £5.3bn.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Evening StandardN “African mobile payments business Airtel Money has made a muted start to trading as it kicked off its £5.3 billion stock market debut” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2Both outlets describe it as the largest London IPO in five years. The Evening Standard says it is the biggest since Wise's flotation in 2021, and City A.M. says the exchange had not landed an IPO above £1bn since 2021. City A.M.RC “The London Stock Exchange has not managed to land an IPO north of £1bn since 2021” Read at City A.M. ↗ Evening StandardN “Its initial public offering (IPO) is the biggest on the London market since the flotation of fintech Wise in 2021” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2Trading opened at 8am under the ticker AMC. The Evening Standard says this was conditional dealing open only to investors allocated shares, with unconditional dealing due when the market opens on 14 October. City A.M.RC “It will begin trading at 8am when markets open on Friday, under the ticker AMC.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Evening StandardN “Conditional dealing of Airtel Money shares began at 8am on Friday, with only investors allocated shares in the offering able to participate, ahead of unconditional share dealing when the market opens on October 14.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Centre · 1The Evening Standard reports a muted debut: shares rose as high as £2 before easing to £1.94 within the first hour, just below the opening mark. Evening StandardN “before the stock later eased back to just below its opening mark on Friday morning, at £1.94 within the first hour.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2Existing shareholders, including the Qatar Investment Authority and Mastercard, are selling 270m shares to raise about £529m. The Evening Standard adds that an over-allotment option of up to 27m more shares would bring the total to £582m, and that majority owner Airtel Africa is taking part only in that over-allotment. City A.M.RC “Existing shareholders, which include the Qatar Investment Authority and Mastercard, are offering up 270m shares that is expected to raise around £529m.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Evening StandardN “Majority shareholder Airtel Africa only took part in the over-allotment sale of shares” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2The International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group's private-sector arm, has taken a cornerstone stake of up to £67.2m. City A.M. says UK retail investors were allocated 8m shares through Retail Book. City A.M.RC “has taken a £67.2m cornerstone stake in the Airtel IPO with around 34m shares. UK retail investors have been allocated 8m shares through investment platform Retail Book.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Evening StandardN “International Finance Corp has agreed to buy up to £67.2 million of shares from existing shareholders at the offer price” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Mixed · 2Airtel Money has been spun out of FTSE 100-listed Airtel Africa, which is part of Sunil Bharti Mittal's Bharti Enterprises. It has about 50m–53m customers and, according to the Evening Standard, operates in 14 African nations and made revenues of about $1.4bn (£1.1bn) last financial year. Mastercard holds just under 4% after a $100m investment in 2021. Evening StandardN “Airtel Money has been spun off from separately listed FTSE 100 firm Airtel Africa”“it generated revenues of around 1.4 billion US dollars (£1.1 billion) in the last financial year.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ City A.M.RC “Payments giant Mastercard holds a stake of just shy of four per cent in the firm following a $100m investment back in April 2021” Read at City A.M. ↗ Mixed · 2Chief executive Ian Ferrao called the listing an important new chapter for the business. Mittal said it was a "vote of confidence in the UK as an attractive global destination for investment". City A.M.RC ““Our listing in London marks an important new chapter for our business and reflects what we have built across Africa and the significant opportunity ahead,”” Read at City A.M. ↗ Evening StandardN “said the IPO was a “vote of confidence in the UK as an attractive global destination for investment”.” Read at Evening Standard ↗ Mixed · 2City A.M. says a successful flotation could open the way to a FTSE 100 place and help build a pipeline of fintech listings, noting that Zilch is leaning towards London for a possible $2bn listing. Susannah Streeter of the Wealth Club called it a "much-needed win for the London market", but noted the £5.3bn valuation was lower than first mooted. She said the real test would come next week. City A.M.RC “A successful flotation would open the door for a spot in the FTSE 100.”“City AM understands the firm is leaning towards the London Stock Exchange for a listing that is hoped to fetch a potential $2bn valuation.” Read at City A.M. ↗ Evening StandardN “She said while the £5.3 billion valuation was lower than first mooted, the IPO was a “much-needed win for the London market”.” Read at Evening Standard ↗
Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.
Left0 outlets
No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.
Centre1 outlet
- Framing
- Reports the debut as a muted but welcome start, leading on the share price moving around the £1.96 offer price and on what the listing means for London's market.
- Emphasis
- Share price moves, the dealing timetable, the financial details of the sale, Mittal's UK investments and an analyst's view.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not mention the ticker, Zilch or the possible FTSE 100 entry.
- Charged language
- “embattled London Stock Exchange”“a shot in the arm”
- For example
-
“has given the embattled London Stock Exchange a shot in the arm amid a recent dearth in new listings.” — Evening Standard
Right1 outlet
- Framing
- A pre-trading piece that presents the IPO as a milestone for London, with its potential to attract more fintech listings.
- Emphasis
- Index eligibility, the historic dearth of large London IPOs, the Deliveroo and Wise comparisons and the Zilch pipeline.
- Leaves out or plays down
- Does not report the first-day share movement, the conditional-dealing timetable or the revenue figures, and does not mention that the valuation was lower than first mooted.
- Charged language
- “biggest London IPO in five years”“open the door”
- For example
-
“The listing is hoped to help unlock a pipeline of new listings for London, particularly in the fintech sector” — City A.M.
What every side reports
- Airtel Money priced its shares at £1.96, valuing it at about £5.3bn.
- Existing shareholders are selling 270m shares to raise about £529m.
- The IFC took a £67.2m cornerstone stake.
- It is the biggest London IPO in five years.
- Ian Ferrao is chief executive.
Where accounts differ
-
How the debut is characterised
- Centre
- Muted start, with shares rising to £2 then easing to £1.94.
- Right
- Previewed as a landmark listing, with no first-day price data reported.
Airtel Money organisation
Presents the listing as an important new chapter and a "beginning, not a destination", and says it will keep building Africa's leading digital financial services platform.
“He added the listing was a “beginning, not a destination”.” — City A.M.
““Today is a landmark moment for Airtel Money.” — Evening Standard
London Stock Exchange organisation
Described as the beneficiary of a much-needed win after a dearth of large listings. Coverage presents it as seeking to attract more fintech IPOs.
“has given the embattled London Stock Exchange a shot in the arm amid a recent dearth in new listings.” — Evening Standard
Left0 articles
No coverage yet.
Centre1 article
-
Airtel Money kicks off £5.3bn IPO in biggest London float for five years
Mixed Reports a muted debut but treats the listing as a welcome lift for London, with caveats from an analyst.
Right1 article
-
Airtel Money set for £5.3bn valuation in biggest London IPO in five years
Celebratory Frames the IPO as a boost to London's market and a gateway to more fintech listings.
- 9 Oct 07:41 First City A.M.RC Airtel Money set for £5.3bn valuation in biggest London IPO in five years
- 9 Oct 09:07 +1h 26m Evening StandardN Airtel Money kicks off £5.3bn IPO in biggest London float for five years
Times are when each article was published, or when we first saw it if the outlet gave no time.