MTN Group has agreed to acquire full ownership of IHS Towers in a 6.2 billion US dollar deal that dramatically reverses a decade-long industry trend of telecoms operators shedding infrastructure assets, uniting Africa’s largest mobile operator with one of its largest tower networks in a transaction that will reshape the continent’s digital infrastructure landscape.
The IHS Towers board unanimously approved the agreement on Tuesday and will recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the transaction, which values the company at 8.50 US dollars per ordinary share. That represents a 239 percent premium over IHS’s share price at the start of its strategic review on March 12, 2024, and a 36 percent premium to the 52-week volume-weighted average price as of February 4, 2026, the last trading day before reports of negotiations became public.
The deal represents a notable strategic reversal. Like many telecoms operators over the past decade, MTN had separated its tower assets to unlock capital and reduce balance sheet pressure, retaining only a 24.7 percent stake in IHS. Now the group is seeking to reintegrate those assets, internalising the tower lease margins it currently pays IHS as a tenant and capturing future third-party revenue growth directly.
MTN will fund the 2.2 billion US dollar cost of the shares it does not already own through approximately 1.1 billion US dollars from IHS’s balance sheet, about 1.1 billion US dollars from MTN’s available liquidity and debt facilities, and the rollover of its existing 24 percent stake. No new equity issuance will be required at the MTN Group level. The transaction is expected to be accretive to net income and cash flow.
Upon completion of IHS’s announced disposals of its Latin American assets, which were announced on February 11 and February 17, MTN intends to acquire 100 percent of IHS’s remaining business, comprising nearly 29,000 towers across Africa serving multiple mobile network operators in five key MTN markets. IHS will delist from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and become a wholly owned MTN subsidiary.
MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita described the acquisition as “a pivotal step” in strengthening the group’s strategic position. “This transaction gives us a unique opportunity to buy back our towers and strengthen our ability to be partners for progress to the nation states in which we operate,” he said.
Founded 25 years ago with a single tower in one market, IHS grew into one of the world’s largest independent tower companies by count, operating in 11 countries and managing approximately 40,000 towers at its peak before disposing of assets in several markets. IHS Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sam Dawish said the deal offers shareholders certainty and immediate value following a strategic review launched during a period of macroeconomic and geopolitical volatility across key markets.
Long-term IHS shareholder Wendel has committed to vote in favour of the transaction. Combined with MTN’s own shareholding, approximately 40 percent of the minimum two-thirds approval required from voting shareholders has already been secured.
The transaction signals a broader recalibration underway across Africa’s telecoms sector. After years of asset-light strategies and tower carve-outs, operators are increasingly reassessing the strategic value of infrastructure ownership amid rising data consumption, geopolitical uncertainty and the push for digital sovereignty. J.P. Morgan is advising IHS on the transaction, while BofA Securities and Citigroup Global Markets are advising MTN.
The deal is expected to close in 2026, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals.
