Airtel Africa Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharti Airtel (Airtel), on Wednesday said that Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) — the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar — has agreed to invest $200 million through a primary equity issuance in the company.

The proceeds will be used to further reduce Airtel Africa’s existing net debt, the company said in a statement.

The investment from QIA is in continuation of the recent $1.25-billion investment by six leading global investors including Warburg Pincus, Temasek, Singtel and SoftBank Group International and others.

Airtel Africa also clarified that this transaction will not involve any sale of shares by existing shareholders. The company has a debt of around $3.7 billion right now, and has been working on to trim it through funds.

The company recently announced a newly constituted Board of Directors that included representatives from Bharti Airtel and other investors. “QIA is a respected global institution with a distinctive lineage and a robust global portfolio. We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with QIA,” Airtel Africa said.

Upbeat on Africa

Airtel Africa is a pan-African telecom company with operations in 14 countries providing 2G, 3G and 4G wireless voice and data services, and mobile commerce through Airtel Money.

Airtel is going aggressive in the African market and the financial performance continues to improve, having turned positive in terms of net profit and operating free cash flow.

During the second quarter ended September 30, 2018, Airtel Africa’s revenues grew in constant currency by 10.8 per cent year-on-year, led by growth in data and Airtel money transactions. Airtel is also preparing for an IPO for the Africa operations, which is expected in May-June.

Airtel will announce its third quarter results on Thursday.

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