MTN Group said it has secured approval from IHS Towers shareholders to acquire the remaining shares it does not own, moving the pan-African operator closer to full control of the tower company.
The companies announced the deal in February, under which MTN will acquire the remaining 75.3% stake in IHS for $8.50 per share. The transaction values IHS at around $6.2 billion, with MTN’s cash consideration for the shares it does not already own amounting to about $2.2 billion.
IHS has a portfolio of nearly 29,000 towers across Africa, making it one of the continent’s largest tower companies. It serves multiple mobile operators, with MTN present across five of its key markets.
The tower company has also completed the sale of its 51% stake in Brazilian fibre venture I-Systems to TIM S.A., Telecom Italia’s Brazilian unit. The disposal forms part of a wider move to exit IHS’s Latin American operations ahead of MTN’s acquisition of its remaining African business.
MTN required approval from at least two-thirds of IHS shareholders voting on the transaction. The vote fulfils a key condition for the deal, although completion remains subject to outstanding regulatory approvals.
“The approval by IHS shareholders is an important step toward completion of the Transaction,” said Ralph Mupita, MTN Group president and CEO. “Within our Ambition 2030, the three-platform strategy, towers are a critical value-creation driver that will strengthen MTN’s strategic and financial position for the future, in a world where digital infrastructure and AI are becoming increasingly essential to Africa’s growth and development.”
MTN has sold towers to IHS since 2014 and became the tower company’s anchor tenant through a series of sale-and-leaseback and share-exchange deals over the past decade. The acquisition marks a reversal of that strategy, bringing a significant portion of MTN’s passive network infrastructure back under its control.
The deal reverses MTN’s previous strategy of selling towers to free up cash. Buying IHS gives it greater control over critical network infrastructure and allows it to keep more of the value currently paid out in lease costs. MTN will also receive rental income from other operators using IHS sites, but takes on more debt and exposure to operating costs.