Airtel Money, the mobile money business of Airtel Africa, plans to raise at least $800 million through a London initial public offering, potentially making it one of the city’s largest listings in recent years.

The company said on Sept. 23 that it intends to list its ordinary shares on the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, with further details on the offer expected in early October.

The proposed Airtel Money IPO would value the business at between $8 billion and $9 billion, according to people briefed on the plans cited by the Financial Times and Reuters. The final size, valuation and pricing remain subject to the formal offer process and market conditions.

Airtel Money said the planned transaction would be a secondary offering, meaning existing shareholders would sell shares rather than the company issuing new shares to raise capital. Airtel Africa currently holds a 77.85% beneficial interest in Airtel Money and said it expects to remain a long-term strategic shareholder after the listing.

The Airtel Money IPO comes as London seeks to attract more large companies to its public markets after a prolonged decline in new listings.

Only seven UK listings had raised about £577 million by Sept. 22, according to data cited by BusinessDay from market sources. That compares with 23 London IPOs raising £2.3 billion during 2025.

A successful Airtel Money IPO would therefore be closely watched by investors and market participants assessing London’s ability to attract large international technology and financial-services companies.

Airtel Money operates across African markets and provides mobile financial services through mobile phones and a network of agents and other distribution channels. The business has expanded beyond basic money transfers into payments and other digital financial services.

The company said it had more than 56 million customers and generated $1.36 billion in revenue in its most recent full financial year, according to information reported ahead of the listing.

Airtel Money also reported total payment transaction value of $213 billion in the 12 months to June 2026, highlighting the scale of the platform. Business Standard, citing company information, reported that the business had about 53 million monthly active users during the same period.

The difference between total customers and monthly active users reflects different measures of the platform’s reach and activity, rather than necessarily a change in the company’s overall customer base.

The proposed Airtel Money IPO follows a longer effort by Airtel Africa to separate the mobile money business from its telecommunications operations through a standalone listing.

Airtel Africa had previously said it expected to pursue an IPO of Airtel Money in the second half of 2026, subject to market conditions. Its annual report said the scale and growth profile of the mobile money business supported the case for a standalone listing.

The company had initially targeted the first half of 2026 but postponed the timetable in May. Reuters reported that Airtel Money subsequently moved the planned listing to the second half of the year amid difficult market conditions.

London was selected as the preferred listing venue as Airtel Africa seeks access to international investors familiar with emerging markets, fintech and payments.

Airtel Africa already has a London-listed parent company. Bharti Airtel, the Indian telecommunications group, is the majority shareholder of Airtel Africa. IFC documents describe Airtel Africa as operating telecommunications and mobile money businesses across 14 African countries.

For Airtel Money, the London listing would create a separately traded company focused on digital financial services. For existing shareholders, the proposed secondary offering would provide an opportunity to sell part of their holdings.

The transaction also involves the International Finance Corporation. Airtel Money said it had signed a cornerstone agreement with IFC as part of the planned offering, while existing shareholders are expected to sell shares in the transaction.

The proposed deal is being arranged by a group of major international banks, including Citigroup, Barclays, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, according to information reported by Business Standard.

The next major step for the Airtel Money IPO is expected in early October, when the company plans to disclose the indicative price range and number of shares to be offered. Final pricing is expected later in October, according to the company’s announcement as reported by Reuters.

The final terms could differ from the current targets because the offer remains subject to regulatory approvals, investor demand and market conditions.

For London’s equity market, the Airtel Money IPO represents one of the more significant potential listings in 2026. For Africa’s digital-finance sector, the transaction would also put one of the continent’s largest mobile-money businesses under the scrutiny of public-market investors.

The listing will provide investors with a clearer market valuation of Airtel Money as a standalone financial-services business once the final offer terms and trading price are established.