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 $4.4 billion deal, marking a significant milestone in the company's expansion in Africa.
The listing, which was initially planned for last week but was postponed to allow the company to meet its listing requirements, saw Airtel Africa's shares climb 10 percent from their listing price of 363 naira.
As the company's shares traded at Tuesday's debut, the main stock index recovered from a seven-week low, with 100,000 shares changing hands.
Airtel Africa, which operates in 14 African countries, is owned 68.3 percent by India's Bharti Airtel and has existing shareholders including Singapore's Temasek, Japan's SoftBank, Singtel, and US investment firm Warburg Pincus.
The company'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.
Airtel Africa's listing also makes it the second company to list in London and Lagos following an IPO by oil firm Seplat.
