Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: In August 1972, Uganda made international headlines when its dictator, President Idi Amin, ordered the expulsion of nearly 40,000 Indians and other Asians within 90 days, as he suspected them of stealing his country’s wealth.
Most of them, mainly traders, later settled in the United Kingdom or other countries. Some also returned to India.
Nearly five decades later, the wheel has turned full circle.
For, India’s telecommunication major Airtel is ready to launch Uganda’s biggest IPO to raise 800 billion shillings (USD 216 million) for expansion of its business in the African country, making it the nation’s biggest share sale.
The offer will open on August 30 and close on October 13, according to a prospectus released in the Ugandan capital of Kampala.
Airtel Uganda Ltd will start trading on the exchange on October 31, the media reported on Tuesday.
The company has priced its IPO shares at 100 shillings apiece, valuing the nation’s second-biggest telecommunications carrier at 4 trillion shillings. The unit of Indian billionaire Sunil Mittal’s Airtel Africa Plc is selling a 20 percent stake, or 8 billion shares, on the Uganda Securities Exchange to fulfill a regulatory requirement.
According to Ugandan rules, telecommunications companies must sell at least 20 percent of shares on their bourse to increase local shareholding and deepen their capital markets. If Airtel Uganda reaches its IPO target, it will become Uganda’s biggest company by market value.
MTN Uganda Ltd., which was listed in 2021, is worth 3.8 trillion shillings. Its IPO was under-subscribed and it raised USD 150 million, about two-thirds of the target amount. Its share has lost 15 percent from the 200 shilling offer price.
Absa Bank Uganda Ltd. is the lead transaction adviser to the Airtel IPO, while Crested Capital is the lead sponsoring broker.