Airtel Says Qatar Holding LLC Will Invest $200M in its Mobile Money Business; Here’s what the Money will be Used for

Leading telecom services provider, Airtel Africa Plc, announced earlier today that Qatar Holding LLC (an affiliate of Qatar Investment Authority) is set to invest the sum of $200 million in Airtel Mobile Commerce BV, a holding company that manages Airtel’s mobile money operations across Africa and elsewhere.

Business Elites Africa understands that Qatar Holding LLC intends to invest the money through a secondary purchase of shares in AMC BV from Airtel Africa Plc. This will happen in two phases: $150 million will be invested during the first phase, followed by $50 million during the second stage.

Following completion of the investment rounds, Qatar Investment Authority will then take ownership of a minority stake in Airtel Africa. The transaction, which valued Airtel Mobile Commerce BV at $2.65 billion, is still subject to some regulatory approvals in the meantime. However, the first phase of the investment rounds is expected to be finalised in August, after which Qatar Investment Holding will be entitled to appoint a director to the Board of AMC BV.

Airtel Africa Plc also stated that proceeds from the transaction will go towards reducing its debt as well as investing in both network and sales infrastructure. Airtel Africa’s Chief Executive Officer, Raghunath Mandava, commented on the development saying:

“With today’s announcement we are pleased to welcome QIA as a prospective investor in our mobile money business, joining both Mastercard and TPG’s The Rise Fund as a further partner to help us realise the full potential from the substantial opportunity to bank the unbanked across Africa.” 

Recall that Business Elites Africa previously reported about the earlier investments by Mastercard and TPG’s The Rise Fund. Back then, we asked an important question –what is it about Airtel Mobile Money that is Attracting big Investors? Click the link below to see the answer to that question.

READ THIS: What is it about Airtel Mobile Money that is Attracting big Investors?