Billionaire Sunil Mittal’s backed telecom services provider Airtel Uganda Ltd, a subsidiary of Airtel Africa plc, plans to raise 800 billion Ugandan shillings (UGX) or $216 million in an initial public offering (IPO), it said in a statement on Tuesday.
The company set the price for its initial public offering (IPO) at 100 UGX a piece, and will offer up to 20% stake or 8 billion shares, the company told the Uganda Securities Exchange. The IPO also fulfills regulatory requirements under which the company has to mandatorily list by 16 December 2023.
The offer opens on Wednesday and closes on October 13. The company will start trading on the exchange on October 31.
Airtel Uganda Limited has offered mobile telecommunications services in Uganda since 1995 and is currently the co-leader in the market with 49% revenue, and 47.3% subscriber market share, respectively. The Company has 14.3 million active subscribers across 146 districts in Uganda.
For the year ended 31 December 2022, Airtel Uganda had revenues, EBITDA and net income of UGX 1,594 billion, UGX 888 billion and UGX 326 billion, respectively.
Airtel Uganda, previously Celtel Uganda Limited, launched the country’s first mobile cellular network in 1995. Following the acquisition by Airtel in June 2010, the business was rebranded as Airtel Uganda.
“The IPO gives preference to Ugandan investors, including the company's customers, to own a share in Airtel Uganda and participate in its future growth. This is very much in line with one of our core values of customer-centricity," said Manoj Murali, managing director, Airtel Uganda Ltd.
“We shall give 5 shares to retailers for every 100 that they buy," Hannington Karuhanga, board chairman, Airtel Uganda Ltd, said.
Absa Bank Uganda Ltd. is the lead transaction adviser to the IPO, while Crested Capital is the lead sponsoring broker.
