Airtel Africa sells Sh126bn stake to pay off its debt
An airtel shop in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG
What you need to know:
- The move is set to reduce the firm’s existing debt of about Sh500 billion and grow its Africa operations, Airtel Africa said.
- The new injection now values the company at Sh440 billion.
- Airtel also said it was looking to go public on an international stock exchange, a move that will reduce its debt further.
Airtel Africa Ltd, a subsidiary of India’s Bharti Airtel Ltd, last week raised Sh126 billion from six global investors including SoftBank Group Corp, Warburg Pincus LLC and Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd.
The fundraising, through a primary equity issuance, is set to reduce the firm’s existing debt of about Sh500 billion and grow its Africa operations, Airtel Africa said. The new injection now values the company at Sh440 billion.
Airtel also said it was looking to go public on an international stock exchange, a move that will reduce its debt further.
“This primary equity issuance clearly underlines the confidence of leading global investors in Airtel Africa’s successful business strategy and its potential to sustain growth and profitability,” Bharti Airtel Africa MD and CEO, Raghunath Mandava.
“The transaction will help us further deleverage our balance sheet and boost our capacity to upgrade networks, expand coverage in different markets and achieve rapid growth of Airtel Money across our operations.”
