The United Arab Emirates is expected to play host to Airtel Money’s planned IPO with the mobile payments company on course for a valuation of around US$4bn-equivalent and a deal size of around US$1bn despite lacking links to the Middle East.

The spinoff and listing has secured the waiver from the UAE’s Securities and Commodities Authority which is needed due to neither the company nor its parent, London-listed Airtel Africa, being headquartered locally, according to people involved in the proposed transaction. Some management is based in Dubai but the company has no revenue base or major shareholders in the UAE, though some smaller shareholders are based in Abu Dhabi.

Airtel Africa is majority owned by India's Bharti Airtel but operates in sub-Saharan Africa. The unit provides cash deposits and withdrawals, payments and transfers, mainly in East Africa.

Airtel told IFR that preparations are on track for an IPO in the first half of 2026 but declined to comment further.

So far only Citigroup has been mandated as a global coordinator and has been overseeing work with the UAE regulator. Beauty parades to fill out the syndicate were held in India in September though banks are still waiting to hear if they have been mandated.

The top line of global coordinators is expected to be broadened. Bookrunners will also be added.

In their corner

Given that the company has no strong links to the Emirates, support of a high-profile local cornerstone investor is expected to be a key component in attracting regional money to the deal – and whether that investor is from Dubai or Abu Dhabi will drive the listing location.

“It would be the first African equity story listed in the UAE, so it’s important to get anchor support,” said a banker close to the situation.

Regional bankers are divided on the merits of the two exchanges with some pointing to the more open and sophisticated nature of the Dubai Financial Market while others highlight the greater volumes of the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

While a dual listing involving a UAE exchange and another (such as London) is a possibility, bankers suggested a single location is more likely as a dual listing will throw up regulatory difficulties, issues around a lack of custodian infrastructure and the dispersal of liquidity.

A new hub

More important than the particular exchange is ensuring UAE and regional investor support for Airtel Money, as a successful deal would promote the UAE as an attractive listing location for foreign companies.

“It’s definitely a first,” said a second banker. “It will be significant in what else we see. [The Emirates] have long had a desire for a hub strategy.”

2026 could prove to be an opportune moment for seizing credibility in overseas listings in the EMEA region, with London and Amsterdam seen as less compelling after years of limited IPO activity and most names far too niche to list in the US.

While UAE markets have been comparatively vibrant for IPOs, foreign companies cannot assume they will get the same backing as locals. A third banker noted that food delivery platform Talabat, despite operating in all GCC countries, was viewed with suspicion by some locals as it was a spinoff from Germany's Delivery Hero. The company's Dh7.45bn (US$2.03bn) IPO in December was the largest tech float in the world last year, but shares have struggled since listing.

Talabat's poor performance was cited when classified ads business Dubizzle pulled its IPO in October and Airtel will have to contend with concern around aftermarket performance for private sector listings. While a transition away from yield stories has long been anticipated – and desired – for the UAE, some question whether the local investor base is ready.

“Airtel will be interesting. UAE people won’t understand it as much. It’s an African business and not even Arabic North Africa,” said a fourth banker. He expects UAE demand to be limited so it will be important to ensure international investors are not spooked by that. "That’s the real challenge; explaining this could have been listed in Africa, London or the UAE and it happened to be here so [domestic support] shouldn’t matter.”

In the first half, Airtel Africa said its mobile money operations had revenue of US$623m, up from US$466m in 2024, while Ebitda rose to US$323m from US$247m. East Africa accounted for 38.9 million of its 49.8 million customers in the region with the remainder in Nigeria and Francophone Africa. Customer numbers were up 20% on the year.

Source: IFR