In a recent development, Airtel Uganda has confirmed an undersubscription rate of 45.55% for its share float that took place on August 30th. The telecom company managed to sell only half of the eight billion shares it offered, raising Shs211.4b, which is a significant shortfall against their ambitious Shs800b target.
The shares were primarily bought by professional and retail investors who claimed 10.55% and 0.34% of total shares respectively. Interestingly, the National Social Savings Fund (NSSF) emerged as the sole institutional investor by purchasing a significant 10.55% stake for Shs199b, making it the second largest shareholder after Bharti Airtel.
In an attempt to attract more investors, Airtel Uganda had offered incentive shares and drastically reduced the offer price to Shs47 for institutional investors and Shs71 for retail investors. Despite these efforts, the share float saw participation from over 4,614 investors contributing to a total subscription rate of 54.45%.
The offer closure date had been extended from its initial October 13th deadline to October 27th in an effort to boost Ugandan involvement in the share float. However, this move did not significantly improve the subscription rate as desired. The underperformance of this sale underscores the challenges faced by Airtel Uganda in its bid to raise capital through public participation.
This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.