Bharti Airtel has announced plans to take much stronger control of its African business, Airtel Africa, through a proposed $2.9 billion share swap deal that could eventually see its stake climb to as high as 90%. The move, approved by Bharti Airtel’s board on 13 May 2026, is being positioned as a key step ahead of a planned IPO of Airtel Africa’s mobile money business later in 2026.
Under the deal, Airtel Nigeria’s parent company will issue up to 146.8 million new shares at about 1,923 Indian rupees each to Indian Continent Investment Ltd (ICIL), a company linked to the Mittal family. In return, ICIL will hand over its 16.3% stake in Airtel Africa Plc. This exchange is expected to push Bharti Airtel’s direct ownership in Airtel Africa from roughly 62.7% to about 79%, according to public filings and market reports.
The transaction is set up as a cash free, debt neutral share swap, meaning Bharti Airtel will not take on extra loans or pay large sums of cash. The company says the deal should lift earnings per share from the first full year of completion, making it financially attractive to shareholders.
While the immediate effect of the swap will raise Airtel’s stake to about 79%, company comments and media coverage suggest the group’s long term goal is to push its holding as high as 90%, wherever rules and market conditions allow. To help on this front, Airtel Africa is running a share buyback programme to repurchase and cancel its own shares, a move that can indirectly boost the promoter group’s control without reducing the float available to outside investors.
The whole consolidation drive is being timed to line up with a planned IPO of Airtel Africa’s mobile money business, which the group has already started preparing with Citigroup Inc. as lead adviser. Airtel Africa runs mobile money services in more than a dozen countries, including Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, and this fintech unit is expected to attract strong interest from global investors.
By raising its stake and tightening decision making control, Bharti Airtel hopes to improve the valuation and earnings clarity of the mobile money business ahead of the listing, while also sending a clear signal that Africa remains a core growth engine for the group.
However, the deal still requires shareholder and regulatory approvals in both India and the UK, where Airtel Africa is listed. Depending on how those approvals land and how markets behave, the final ownership level and timing could change. For now, the 90% target remains a goal, while the 79% stake marks the first concrete step under the $2.9 billion share swap framework.
