Does Airtel Money mark the end of London’s listing drought? Not yet | Nils Pratley
Source: The Guardian ·
The biggest flotation in five years was a bit of a shoo-in. Let’s see what happens when overseas competition is tougherIndian billionaire’s payments firm plots biggest London flotation in yearsA win is a win, but we should probably contain our excitement about the biggest flotation in London for five years. Airtel Money, a payments processor that operates in 13 African countries and should be…
From the source
A win is a win, but we should probably contain our excitement about the biggest flotation in London for five years. Airtel Money, a payments processor that operates in 13 African countries and should be worth between £6bn and £7bn, is a welcome addition to the stock market but it would be a stretch to say the event marks a definitive change in the weather to end the listings drought. Why? Because, in a sense, Airtel Money is already here. It is a 78%-owned subsidiary of Airtel Africa, an established FTSE 100 firm with a market value of £11.3bn ultimately controlled by Bharti Enterprises under the Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, also known for his 25% stake in BT. That means this was a home fixture for London in the competition with other venues. The Airtel/Bharti collective still had a look at the Middle East, the US and the rest of Europe, we’re told, but London will have started as a heavy favourite. It is simply easier to spin off a subsidiary on a market where the parent…