KEY POINTS
- MTN IHS acquisition valued at $6.2 billion.
- Offer price of $8.50 per share approved by IHS board.
- Deal expected to close in 2026 pending approvals.
MTN Group has agreed to acquire IHS Holding in a $6.2 billion all-cash transaction that would bring one of Africa’s largest telecom tower operators fully under its control.
The offer values IHS at $8.50 per share, representing a 239 percent premium to the company’s share price at the start of its strategic review in March 2024. IHS said its board unanimously approved the agreement and will recommend that shareholders vote in favour.
MTN, which already holds about 24 percent of IHS, has committed to vote its stake in support of the deal. Long-term shareholder Wendel has also indicated backing, taking combined support to more than 40 percent of the register. If completed, IHS will delist and become a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN.
MTN IHS Acquisition Backed by Board
Sam Darwish, chairman and chief executive of IHS, said the transaction offers certainty to shareholders following nearly two years of strategic review amid geopolitical and economic pressures in several markets.
Founded 25 years ago, IHS expanded from a single tower in one country to operations across 11 markets, with its portfolio at one stage reaching about 40,000 towers.
MTN Group Chief Executive Ralph Mupita described the MTN IHS acquisition as a strategic move to strengthen the company’s infrastructure base as demand for digital connectivity rises across Africa.
Funding Structure and Closing Timeline
MTN will finance the IHS acquisition through a combination of its existing stake, approximately $1.1 billion in new cash from MTN, about $1.1 billion from IHS’s balance sheet, and the rollover of existing IHS debt.
In addition, at the end of the day, IHS must have a certain amount of cash on hand. The sale of its Latin American tower and fiber assets, which was disclosed separately, is part of the finance strategy. The deal still needs to be approved by regulators and shareholders, among other things, and is likely to completion in 2026.
If the transaction goes through, MTN would possess a lot of tower infrastructure in several African nations, which would offer it more control over assets that are important for the growth of mobile and internet services.
