Telecom operator Airtel of billionaire Sunil Mittal plans to hold the largest IPO in Uganda

Airtel Uganda Ltd. plans to raise up to $216 million in an initial public offering in what will be the largest equity sale in the country.

The company valued its IPO at 100 shillings apiece, and the country's second-largest telecom operator was valued at 4 trillion shillings. Billionaire Sunil Mittal's Airtel Africa Plc unit is selling a 20% stake, or 8 billion shares, on the Uganda Stock Exchange to meet regulatory requirements.

The offer opens on Wednesday and closes on October 13, according to a prospectus published in the capital Kampala on Tuesday. The company will begin trading on the stock exchange on October 31.

Uganda has asked telcos to sell at least 20% of shares on its stock exchange in order to increase local shareholding and deepen its capital markets. If Airtel Uganda achieves its IPO target, it will become Uganda's largest company by market value.