Airtel Africa Plc, the second largest telecommunications group in Africa is set to sell its shares to Nigerian investors at between N363 and N454 per share, according to offer prospectus of the telco.
The company said the shares would be offered to high networth investors and institutional investors through book building and the shareholders’ offer was part of its global offer to raise 750 million dollars. Book building is a process used by companies to raise capital through public offerings, both initial public offers (IPOs) or follow-on public offers (FPOs), to aid price and demand discovery.
The offer price is determined after the bid closure based on the demand generated in the process. It said the company’s shares would be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and London Stock Exchange (LSE) after the book building.
The directors, according to the prospectus, believes that offering the shares in Nigeria and listing on the NSE would encourage operational discipline through the establishment of an independent capital structure and governance framework following the successful turnaround of the Group’s operations.
It added that it would introduce an optimal capital structure and enable improved leverage for greater flexibility in pursuing growth opportunities going forward. The prospectus stated that listing on the exchange would provide access to the capital markets and diversification of the Group’s capital base to support its continued growth.
The company noted that the net proceeds of the offer would principally be for debt reduction. The issuing houses for the offer are Barclays Securities Nigeria and Quantum Zenith Securities Investments Limited. It said the application had been made to the NSE for the Ordinary Shares to be admitted to the official list of the NSE.
Source: Commweek
