LONDON, June 29 – Bharti Airtel Limited has increased its direct ownership in Airtel Africa Plc to 79.22% following the completion of an internal share-for-share transaction with Indian Continent Investment Limited (ICIL), further consolidating the Indian telecommunications group’s control over its Africa-focused operations.
According to the regulatory filing seen by African Economy Inc., the transaction, completed on 22 June 2026, involved the transfer of about 595.2 million ordinary shares in Airtel Africa, representing about 16.35% of the company’s issued share capital.
The change in ownership was disclosed in dual TR-1 Standard Forms for the notification of major holdings submitted by Bharti Overseas Private Limited and notified to Airtel Africa on 24 June 2026. The filing was signed by Group Company Secretary Simon O’Hara and approved for regulatory release in Nigeria.
The disclosure, seen by African Economy Inc., states that under the restructuring, ICIL transferred its entire direct stake in Airtel Africa to Bharti Airtel in exchange for approximately 146.8 million newly issued and fully paid equity shares in Bharti Airtel Limited.
The transaction means Bharti Airtel now holds the shares directly rather than through an intermediate holding company. While the ownership structure has been simplified, the Bharti Group’s overall economic interest in Airtel Africa remains unchanged, making the transaction an internal corporate reorganisation rather than a change in ultimate ownership.
As a result of the deal, Bharti Airtel’s direct voting rights in Airtel Africa increased from 62.32% to 79.22%, while ICIL’s direct holding fell from approximately 16.14% to zero, confirming a complete disposal of its direct interest in the company.
The filing shows that the transferred shares comprised 595,204,251 ordinary shares with a nominal value of US$0.50 each. In return, ICIL received 146,761,335 newly issued equity shares in Bharti Airtel Limited, which is incorporated in New Delhi, India.
According to the regulatory disclosure, Airtel Africa had an issued share capital of 3,640,521,609 ordinary shares as of 23 June 2026, after accounting for treasury shares repurchased by the company. The total number of voting rights stood at 2,883,895,636.
The restructuring is expected to streamline Bharti Group’s ownership chain and strengthen Bharti Airtel’s direct control over one of Africa’s largest telecommunications operators without affecting existing shareholders’ economic exposure. Airtel Africa continues to operate across multiple African markets, providing mobile telecommunications and digital financial services to millions of customers across the continent.
