This archive report was first published on 10 July 2019.
On July 9, 2019, Airtel Africa made history by listing on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in a 1.36 trillion naira ($4.4 billion) flotation, turning the telecoms company into the bourse's third-largest stock by market value.
The company's shares climbed 10% from their listing price of 363 naira after the float went live, with 100,000 shares trading at the debut. This helped the main stock index recover from a seven-week low.
Airtel Africa, owned 68.3% by India's Bharti Airtel, offered shares in its African unit two weeks ago via a London IPO and said it would dual list in Nigeria, its biggest market in Africa.
The company operates across 14 African countries and had planned to list last week but the bourse postponed the cross-border listing to allow the telecoms firm to meet its listing requirements.
Airtel's listing comes after main rival, South Africa's MTN, listed its Nigerian unit in Lagos in May in a $6.5 billion float that made it the second-largest stock on the bourse by market value.
It also becomes the second company to list in London and Lagos following an IPO by oil firm Seplat.
Airtel Africa's existing shareholders include Singapore's Temasek, Japan's SoftBank, Singtel, and U.S. investment firm Warburg Pincus.
The local bourse has said Airtel shares registered in Britain may be moved from the London market to Nigeria subject to approval by the custodians in London and foreign exchange rules in Nigeria. But Airtel shares registered in Nigeria cannot be moved to London, it said.
