Africell, the London-based pan-African telecommunications operator, has made its capital markets debut with the successful issuance of a public $300 million corporate bond priced at 10.5%.
Africell’s debut offering attracted over $600m worth of interest. The allocation went to over fifty major institutional investors in the US, UK, Asia and the Middle East, including a development finance institution and multiple existing Africell lenders. Citi, J.P. Morgan and Standard Bank acted as bookrunners on the transaction, while Clifford Chance and White & Case acted as legal counsel.
Africell is the first Africa-focused company to make its Eurobond market debut in over two years. The company offers investors exposure to a fast-growing sector in four dynamic geographies: Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. The proceeds of the bond will be used to boost network investment and expansion.
Africa first launched services in The Gambia in 2001. Today, it has approximately 16 million subscribers and almost one and a half thousand full-time staff across its international operations and offices. Afrimoney, Africell’s mobile money platform, has over one and a half million active users.