Mastercard, TPG, QIA Increase Investments in Airtel Money to $500m

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The trio of Mastercard, TPG and QIA has increased their investments in Airtel Money to $500 million, Airtel Africa Plc, the parent company of the business, has confirmed.

The three firms in their second tranche of investments pumped $125 million into the business, a notice filed to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited disclosed.

Airtel Africa, as part of efforts to raise funds to reduce its debts and expand its operations, opted to offload a minority stake in the mobile money venture.

Mastercard, TPG and QIA showed interest and agreed to invest in the venture.

Earlier in the year, they invested heavily in the company through the secondary purchase of equities in AMC BV from a subsidiary of Airtel Africa.

In the latest round, Mastercard has increased its stake in the company by investing an additional $25 million, while TPG and QIA have put down $50 million each, totalling $125 million.

“With these second closings, Airtel Africa will have received a total of $500 million cumulative proceeds from the minority stake sales in Airtel Money from the three investors,” a part of the statement said.

“As previously reported, the proceeds from these secondary stake sale transactions will be used to reduce group debt and invest in network and sales infrastructure in the respective operating countries,” it added.

Airtel Africa is a leading provider of telecommunications and mobile money services in Africa. It has a presence in 14 countries across the continent.

Its mobile money business is expanding very fast where it operates and this is due to the huge confidence customers have in their organisation.

The duo of QIA and TPG already had a director each on the board of AMC BV after their initial investments in the company. It is not clear if Mastercard would be able to appoint one with its latest transaction. Mastercard is one of the major players in the sector.