Airtel Africa scales back Airtel Money IPO valuation and size

Airtel Africa is adjusting its plans for the London IPO of its mobile financial services unit, Airtel Money. Following investor pushback regarding an initial $10 billion valuation target, the company is considering a smaller offering of at least $800 million, down from previous estimates of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. Reports suggest the group may now target a valuation between $8 billion and $9 billion to ensure the deal proceeds in London’s subdued IPO market.

Despite the valuation adjustments, Airtel Money has demonstrated significant growth. For the fiscal year ending March 2026, the unit generated $1.355 billion in revenue and served approximately 54.1 million customers, processing $196 billion in transactions.

Separately, Airtel Africa continues its share buyback programme. Between September 14 and September 18, 2026, the company acquired 798,919 ordinary shares through Barclays Capital Securities Limited at a volume-weighted average price of 322.5861 GBp. Since the programme's inception in May 2026, the company has repurchased a cumulative total of over 19.9 million shares.