Angola raised AOA300.3bn ($321mn) from the sale of a 15% stake in state-owned mobile operator Unitel, completing the country’s largest initial public offering to date.

The government sold 7.5mn shares at AOA40,040 each, the top of the offer’s indicative price range, according to the Angola Debt and Securities Exchange (BODIVA).

Investor demand exceeded the number of shares available by 21%, while more than 11,000 investors became shareholders in Angola’s largest telecommunications company.

The sale values Unitel at about AOA2.002 trillion, equivalent to approximately $2.14bn, based on the IPO price.

Settlement of the transaction was scheduled for July 28, with Unitel’s shares expected to begin trading on BODIVA on July 29. All 50mn issued shares, rather than only the 15% sold to investors, are due to be admitted to trading.

Unitel will become BODIVA’s first listed telecommunications company, broadening a stock market previously dominated by financial-sector issuers. The offer also provided an important test of domestic retail demand.

The Capital Markets Commission approved the sale of 7.5mn ordinary shares, representing 15% of Unitel’s capital and voting rights, in early July.

The offer ran from July 6 to July 24, with shares marketed at between AOA36,036 and AOA40,040 each. Of the total, 1mn shares were reserved for Unitel employees and 6.5mn were offered to the general public.

The IPO forms part of President João Lourenço’s privatisation programme, known as PROPRIV, which is intended to reduce the state’s holdings in commercial companies and broaden Angola’s domestic capital market.

Unitel reported net profit of AOA158.37bn in 2025, up 59.3% from the previous year, while total assets increased 13.4% to AOA1.424 trillion, according to offer documents.

Unitel also owns 51.9% of Banco de Fomento Angola, which completed Angola’s first initial public offering in 2025. The mobile operator’s listing therefore marks another stage in the government’s effort to use large state-linked companies to expand BODIVA’s equity market.

The state gained control of Unitel in 2022 after nationalising two 25% shareholdings held through Vidatel and Geni.

The two holdings had previously been associated with Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of former president José Eduardo dos Santos, and former general Leopoldino “Dino” Nascimento.

The nationalisations brought 50% of Unitel under direct state ownership and were followed by preparations to return part of the company to private investors through the capital market.