Six leading investors including Warburg and SoftBank invested $1.25 bn in the company
Airtel Africa Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel, on Wednesday said Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will invest $200 million in the company through a primary equity issuance.
The amount will be used to pare debt of the company which stands at around $3.5 billion. Airtel Africa also intends to come up with an initial public offering and use the proceeds primarily for further reduction of debt, the company had said earlier.
"Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar has agreed to invest $200 million through a primary equity issuance in the company. The proceeds will be used to further reduce Airtel Africa's existing net debt," Airtel said in a statement.
This investment from QIA is in addition to the recent $1.25 billion investment by six leading global investors, including Warburg Pincus, Temasek, Singtel, and SoftBank Group International. Representatives from the six investors have already joined the Airtel Africa board.
The fresh transaction with QIA will not involve any sale of shares by the existing shareholders, the statement said.
"We are excited to welcome the Qatar Investment Authority as a long-term strategic equity partner. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with QIA," Airtel Africa said.
"As a long-term global investor, we are delighted to invest in one of the leading telecommunication companies in Africa. QIA will look forward to supporting Airtel's vision in building a world-class business in the African continent," QIA said.
In 2013, Airtel received investment from the Qatar Foundation Endowment, an entity managed by the Qatar's royal family, which exited from the Indian telecom firm in November 2017 after selling stake for $1.48 billion.
Airtel Africa is experiencing a healthy revenue growth in voice and data services apart from a strong performance in the Airtel Money business. With 4G services live in 9 countries and in process of rollouts in most others, Airtel Africa is well placed to capture a significant market share of the rapidly growing data demand across countries, the company said.
Bharti Airtel will announce its third quarterly results on Thursday.
RINGING IN FUNDS
- Six leading investors including Warburg and SoftBank invested $1.25 bn in the company
- In 2013, Airtel had received investment from Qatar Foundation Endowment
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