Airtel Africa London Stock Exchange debut lacklustre, stock falls 15%

Airtel Africa made a lacklustre debut on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) on Friday, knocking almost £400 million off its opening valuation.

The shares fell sharply upon what may be a disappointing debut for one of the largest initial public offers (IPOs) announced in London in 2019, falling as much as 15 per cent to 68 pence. In India, Bharti Airtel’s stock ended at Rs 346.7 a piece on the BSE on Friday, down 0.3 per cent.

The market capitalisation of Airtel Africa stood at £2.6 billion at 5:30 pm (IST) when the stock price was 68 pence apiece. Bharti Airtel’s African subsidiary had priced its shares at 80 pence at the bottom end of its 80-100 pence price range, which valued the company at £3.06 billion.