Airtel Africa indicative IPO price implies limited unlocking of value for Bharti

Mumbai: A major takeaway for Bharti Airtel Ltd’s investors from the initial public offering (IPO) of Airtel Africa Ltd is value unlocking. The London listing is expected to help the subsidiary derive better value and help the parent lower its debt.

But as it emerges, the IPO is not giving the kind of monetary gains as initially envisaged. First, the company toned down the amount of funds it planned to raise from the IPO: from a purported $1 billion to $750 million. Then came the IPO price range of 80 to 100 pence per share, a sizeable discount to the pre-IPO placement.