Bharti Airtel International, the Dutch based holding company for Airtel Africa is planning a listing on a bourse for the African unit (Via Business Daily Africa).
This is after Bharti Airtel (The Group), wrote to the National Stock Exchange of India about its African holding operations board, holding a non binding exploratory discussion about the possibility of listing on an internationally recognized stock exchange.
This is with a view of boosting performance of it’s African operations whose units have been blamed for poor performance.
Airtel did not provide much details but did acknowledge the possibility of listing a minority stake and London looked like an attractive listing prospect.
This is as saying that Airtel wants its African unit to operate independently with outside capital that doesn’t cut through the bottomline of the group. Given the prospective listing is minor, Airtel will maintain larger control of the African unit.
Some Airtel Africa units have long dragged the company into the red and this amplified rumours of a possible exit. At one time this group chairman Sunil Mittal was quoted to have said of a possible exit of Airtel operations from East Africa, that caught wide spread attention
Airtel brushed off these rumours and instead emphasized acquisitions or mergers as a viable alternative. We have since witnessed a merger in Ghana of Airtel with Millicom’s Tigo and an acquisition of the same company’s operations by Airtel in Rwanda.
