Airtel Money begins London trading after £5.3bn IPO

Airtel Money began trading on the London Stock Exchange on Friday, October 9, after completing an initial public offering that valued the mobile payments business at about £5.3 billion. The shares were priced at £1.96 each and trade under the ticker AMC. The offer comprised 270 million shares. At the stated price, that share count implies gross proceeds of about £529 million. One report instead put the proceeds at about £703 million, a figure that does not match the reported share count and offer price; the available information does not explain the difference. Airtel Money’s market debut was modestly positive. Shares opened flat, then rose by as much as 2% and were reported trading at £2, above the offer price. The offer drew demand several times greater than the number of shares available, according to one account. The company had priced the shares at a fixed price rather than within a range. The International Finance Corporation received 34,285,714 shares for £67.2 million under a cornerstone commitment, according to reported allocation details. Existing shareholders included the Qatar Investment Authority and TPG.