After getting bombed at the London Stock Exchange when it was listed- the stock spiraling downwards immediately after listing-this time around, lady luck is smiling at Airtel Africa when it was debuted at the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The shares showed a buoyant trend immediately after listing. Shares climbed 10% from their listing price of 363 naira after the float. Over 100,000 shares were traded at the debut listing. That also coincided with the Nigerian stock index recovering from a seven-week low. Incidentally, Airtel Africa’s 1.36 trillion naira (US$4.4 billion) flotation is turning the telecom company into the bourse’s third-largest stock by market valuation. The ecstatic Airtel Nigeria CEO Sgun Odunsanya said the company, which has operations in 14 countries including Nigeria, would remain in the leadership position in Africa. He thanked the investors for affirming faith in the company and vowed that it is committed to enhancing the customer value and investors’ aspirations.
Airtel Africa’s shares totaling 68.3% is owned by India’s Bharti Airtel. It offered shares in its African unit two weeks ago through a London IPO. That time also, the company made it clear that it would dual list in Nigeria, its biggest market in Africa. It had planned to list the stocks last week but the Nigerian bourse postponed the listing to allow the telecom giant to meet its listing requirements. Significantly, its arch competitor in the African market-South African based MTN-listed its shares in the Nigerian exchange in May this year with a float of US$ 6.5 billion, to become the second largest stock by market capitalization in the Nigerian Exchange. The top slot in the exchange in terms of market capitalization is occupied by Dangote Cement owned by Aliko Dangote with a market cap of US$ 8.3 billion.
