Angola raised 300.3 billion Kwanzas ($329 million) through the sale of a 15% stake in the country’s biggest telecommunications operator, Unitel, after investor demand exceeded the shares on offer by more than 20%.
The government sold 7.5 million shares in state-controlled Unitel at a final price of 40 040 Kwanzas ($43.87) per share, the top end of the indicated price range, with demand reaching 362.1 billion Kwanzas ($396.7 million).
The offer achieved a subscription rate of 120.72%, final results released on Monday showed.
Unitel has more than 21 million customers, and the Initial Public Offering (IPO) is one of the highlights of Angola’s push to open its state-dominated economy to private investment.
A total of 17 549 orders were accepted out of 18 571 submitted during the offer period, which ran from July 6 to July 24.
Trading of Unitel shares on Angola’s BODIVA stock exchange is due to begin on July 29.
The Southern African oil producer has seen a handful of listings on its BODIVA exchange since the first flotation in 2022.
Unitel was previously partly owned by businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, daughter of former President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who was in power for 38 years until 2017.
Current President Joao Lourenco has moved to push aside powerful figures associated with dos Santos, including his daughter, and nationalised her 25% stake in Unitel.
–Reuters–
