Airtel Africa IPO on track

Bharti Airtel’s African division, Airtel Africa, has denied reports that it has delayed its planned initial public offering (IPO), the Economic Times reports. Responding to reports that claimed that turmoil in emerging market stocks had led the company to delay the IPO by around six months, Airtel Africa said: ‘We would like to categorically state that Airtel Africa IPO preparations are proceeding as per plan and there is no change’. Airtel is understood to be seeking an enterprise value of around USD8 billion for its African business, with the sale expected to take place in early 2019. As previously reported by TeleGeography’s CommsUpdate, Airtel Africa announced that it had signed an agreement to raise a total of around USD1.25 billion by issuing fresh shares to a group of six investors including Temasek, SingTel, Softbank Group International and Warburg Pincus.