MTN moves to take ownership of IHS Towers in $2.2 Billion Deal
A $2.2 billion deal to acquire IHS Towers outright hands Africa’s biggest mobile operator control of nearly 29,000 sites.
MTN Group has agreed to buy full ownership of IHS Towers in a deal worth $6.2 billion, with MTN paying $2.2 billion for the roughly 75% of shares it does not currently hold. The purchase, announced on February 17, will take IHS private as a wholly owned MTN subsidiary, giving the South African telecom giant direct control over almost 29,000 towers in Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, and Zambia.
The transaction signals a significant reversal. MTN, like most global telecommunications, sold up its tower assets ten years ago to free up capital and focus on customers. IHS was an important vehicle for these disposals. Now, with IHS’s New York-listed shares battered by naira depreciation, high debt expenses, and emerging market mistrust, MTN’s $8.50-per-share offer represents a 239 percent premium to where the stock stood when IHS initiated a strategic review in March 2024. The math behind owning towers has altered.
Financially, the structure is prudent. The cash on IHS’s own financial sheet accounts for around $1.1 billion of the purchase price, implying that the corporation is partially funding its own acquisition. MTN covers the remaining balance with current cash and fresh loans, with no new stock issued. The transaction is contingent on IHS completing the sale of its Latin American assets to Macquarie Asset Management, which is already ongoing, and regulatory clearances in its African markets.
The deal’s most defining feature is its competitive ramifications. IHS has always been a neutral landlord; Airtel, Glo, and smaller operators rent space on its towers alongside MTN, with no reason to anticipate special treatment. That neutrality ends when MTN becomes the owner. Rival networks will now pay rent to their main competitor, resulting in an inherent conflict of interest that authorities in Nigeria and other key markets would need to carefully monitor. Conditions that appear unavoidable include secured lease terms, independent tower governance, and price protections.
MTN CEO Ralph Mupita described the transaction as a long-term infrastructure play, stating that in a continent where mobile connectivity supports banking, healthcare, and commerce, owning the physical network layer is a strategic requirement. He may well be correct. However, the boundary between infrastructure owner and competitive gatekeeper is thin, and how firmly African regulators maintain it will determine whether this agreement accelerates or concentrates the continent’s digital destiny.
