Nigerian Stock Exchange has received application from Airtel for the listing of its shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bharti Airtel, in its filing in London, stated that it has plans to list the shares on the NSE along with the listing of its Africa unit at the London Stock Exchange subject to regulatory approval of the SEC and the NSE. The offer is expected to be around 595.2 million to 744.0 million new shares to be issued by the company. The share price is reportedly 80 to100 pence a share for its initial public offer on the LSE.The company is expected to raise about $750m. The IPO will see 25% of the company’s shares up for sale for retail as well as pre-IPO investors.
It may be recalled that MTN also recently successfully listed its shares on the premium board of Nigeria’s bourse. The Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof Umar Danbatta observed that “Certainly, having set this precedence now, the stock exchange market is bullish through this listing, we hope all operators will follow suit.”
