We reported some weeks ago that Airtel was trying to raise some cash by selling off some assets, and they got that in the form of a $200 million injection into its African mobile money department. It seems that the good news is not over for the brand yet, though, with Mastercard now bringing new money on board.
The card issuing company has invested an $100 million into the mobile money business as Airtel is on the move to sell as much as 25% of the business to willing investors. With the two major money moves that the company has now seen, it is impressive to note that it is yet to selloff even a fifth of the business.
This is not the first time that Airtel and Mastercard will be doing a deal together so we know that something fruitful will come out of this new partnership. Likewise, we expect to see which other companies will take up the remaining stake that Airtel plans on selling, of which we have close to 15% left.
That said, it should also be noted that the $2.65 billion-valued Airtel start-up is not hard for cash in any way. In fact, they have maintained a good debt ratio on their books and will be looking to leverage such a strong financial strength to bring in bigger players in the industry.