(Oct 9): Mobile payments firm Airtel Money made a tepid debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Friday after completing what may be the bourse’s largest initial public offering (IPO) in five years.
Airtel Money rose as much as 2.1% above the £1.96 (RM10.58) a share offer price in the IPO, before turning 0.6% lower by 9.21am in London. Existing shareholders including the Qatar Investment Authority and TPG Inc sold 270 million shares, raising roughly £529 million in the process, according to a statement on Friday. The deal valued Airtel Mobile Commerce NV, as the company is formally known, at about £5.3 billion.
Majority owner Airtel Africa plc and Mastercard Inc may sell an additional 27 million shares through an overallotment option after the stock’s debut under the ticker symbol “AMC.”
How the company trades throughout Friday is the latest test in London’s efforts to revitalise its capital markets. A strong first day would imply the city is fertile ground for IPOs and may encourage more companies to list on the LSE. At the same time, a debut that closes below the offer price would send a negative signal through the market, potentially deterring listing candidates.
“Last night I had nightmares, you just don’t want to see that thing go red,” Chief executive officer Ian Ferrao told Bloomberg Radio before trading started. “We’ve been working towards this day for a long time and it’s a very proud moment.”
Ferrao and his team opened trading at the London Stock Exchange on Friday wearing custom Nike Inc sneakers painted with the company’s name and ticker, created by a Dubai-based designer. The ceremony was accompanied by performers dancing to drums.
London’s stock exchange has experienced a prolonged shortage of first-time share sales, a drought that is set to enter its sixth year and which has extended to the rest of Europe. That narrative is unlikely to be changed even with Airtel Money’s IPO, which won’t push the total raised from first-time share sales past last year’s tally.
While London entered 2026 with a strong pipeline of prospective IPOs, many of the plans have been delayed either by choppy markets or to allow more time for preparations. The mood music wasn’t improved on Thursday as Revolut Ltd CEO Nik Storonsky told Bloomberg TV he wants the digital bank to hold a primary listing in the US, with London relegated to a secondary one.
Airtel Money opted to proceed with its IPO at a volatile time for new listings, with several candidates in Europe and the US postponing imminent offerings amid rising interest rates and geopolitical instability.
To help drum up investor appetite, Airtel Money twice lowered its valuation expectations and chose to market shares at a fixed price instead of the customary range. Even so, it was London’s largest first-time offering since the heydays of 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Airtel Money operates a range of branches and kiosks across Africa that are used to pay utility bills, arrange microloans and buy goods, according to its website. It processed US$213 billion (RM870.6 billion) in the 12 months through June, with about 53 million monthly active users, the company has said previously.
The fintech’s IPO has been seen as a sign of success for efforts by London Stock Exchange Group plc, the parent company of the exchange, to attract more listings from abroad. The LSE has recently created a new segment on the bourse for secondary listings from international firms, while FTSE Russell, which operates the FTSE UK indexes, made it easier for foreign companies to access the country’s benchmarks.
Citigroup Inc, Bank of America Corp, Barclays plc, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and JPMorgan Chase & Co are arranging Airtel Money’s offering.
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