MTN negotiates buyout of IHS Towers in $2.76bn deal

MTN Group, Africa’s largest cellular community operator, is in superior talks to amass the remaining 75 per cent stake in IHS Towers, a deal that might worth the tower infrastructure agency at about $2.76bn.

Reuters reported on Thursday that the telco was negotiating to buy the 75 per cent stake in IHS Holdings that it doesn’t at present personal.

“Primarily based on the corporate’s newest closing value on the New York Inventory Trade, the potential transaction values IHS at roughly $2.76bn”, the publication mentioned.

MTN’s roughly 25 per cent holding in IHS Towers stems from its 2014 tower sale deal, when the operator offered most of its tower belongings throughout a number of African markets to IHS as a part of a landmark infrastructure transaction.

“The renewal of the varied contracts throughout our markets into the following decade put MTN operations within the respective markets onto a extra sustainable footing.

“We stay centered on guaranteeing our networks are nicely invested, have excessive availability, and have the headroom to satisfy the rising and structural demand for information going into the long run.

“These renewals are key to these priorities. We look ahead to working constructively with IHS on the excellent governance points now that industrial preparations have been concluded”, MTN Group President and Chief Govt Officer Ralph Mupita had mentioned in a 2024 assertion.

The telco, which depends closely on IHS for tower infrastructure throughout key markets, together with Nigeria, mentioned any provide can be aligned with IHS’s most up-to-date market valuation. It added that discussions stay ongoing and that no binding settlement has been reached.

IHS Holdings, which is listed in each New York and Frankfurt, noticed its US-listed shares shut decrease on Wednesday, giving the group a market capitalisation of about $2.76bn, based on market information.

If accomplished, the acquisition would mark a strategic shift for MTN, permitting it to exert higher management over belongings which can be central to the operation and enlargement of its cellular networks.

Better possession of tower infrastructure might additionally assist MTN handle prices, enhance community effectivity, and cut back its reliance on third-party suppliers over the long run.

MTN mentioned that if the negotiations don’t lead to a deal, it will take into account different methods to unlock worth from its current shareholding in IHS whereas staying inside its capital allocation framework.

Each firms, that are current in Nigeria, have maintained a long-standing industrial relationship, with MTN serving as IHS’s largest buyer throughout a number of African markets.

MTN can also be certainly one of IHS Towers’ vital shareholders, underlining the strategic significance of the talks for each events.