The Africa unit of Bharti Airtel is reportedly in plans to have an initial public offering in the London Stock Exchange in a bid to help it reduce debt.
The offer according to Bloomberg, would comprise new shares and the sale of a free float of at least 25 per cent of the company. The company is also said to be considering listing in Nigeria. The sale of the shares is expected to raise about USD 1 Billion.
The London listing is expected to take place this month with an aim of starting trading in June. Airtel Africa Ltd already raised USD 1.25 billion last year from investors including Temasek Holdings Pte and SoftBank Group Corp., giving it an equity value of about USD 4.4 billion.
Airtel has operations in 14 African markets including Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Ghana.