The African digital financial services platform Airtel Money made its debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Friday. This marked the exchange's largest initial public offering (IPO) in several years.
Sunil Mittal, founder of Airtel and Chairman of Bharti Enterprises, noted that this listing continues Bharti's significant history of long-term interests in the UK. He stated: 'I am pleased to welcome the successful listing of Airtel Money on the London Stock Exchange. This listing is an expression of confidence in the UK as an attractive global destination for investment, possessing a stable business and political environment that appeals to long-term investors.'
Furthermore, this placement is based on Bharti's substantial experience in the UK, including a strategic stake in BT announced in 2024, ownership of Eutelsat shares (formerly OneWeb) jointly with the UK Government, and hotel assets such as the Scottish resort Gleneagles.
Mittal added that in 2019, they listed Airtel Africa in London to leverage the established base of patient, strategic capital in the UK and its willingness to invest in dynamically growing companies in emerging markets. He emphasized that the same conditions made London an obvious choice for this new placement in 2026.
He also noted that the oversubscription of the Airtel Money offering demonstrates the British market's interest in high-quality investment assets. Airtel Money began conditional trading on the London Stock Exchange. The offer price was set at $1.96 per share; during early conditional trading, shares reached around $2.00 before falling to approximately $1.94, slightly below the offering price.
The implied market capitalization is approximately $7 billion ($5.3 billion), although this is lower than the previously projected valuation of $8–$9 billion. Trading is currently conditional and limited to investors who have been allocated shares. Unconditional trading is scheduled for October 14, 2026.
Bharti Airtel holds a 79.2% stake in Airtel Africa, and Airtel Africa, in turn, owns 77.85% of Airtel Money. In effect, Bharti Airtel has an indirect economic interest of about 61.6% in Airtel Money.