MTN Looks to Sell $1.1 Billion IHS Nigeria Stake to Investors
MTN Looks to Sell $1.1 Billion IHS Nigeria Stake to Investors
MTN Group is seeking investors for a stake in its Nigerian IHS Towers business valued at about $1.1 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, as the telecom operator works to meet a regulatory condition attached to its planned acquisition of IHS Towers.
MTN has agreed to sell down 30% of IHS Nigeria to local Nigerian investors as part of the conditional approval granted by Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC). The sale will be conducted on an arm’s-length commercial basis and will depend on market conditions.
The planned sell-down is separate from MTN’s broader agreement to acquire the remaining shares of IHS Towers, which would give the South African telecom group full ownership of the tower company, subject to outstanding regulatory approvals.
MTN’s $6.2 Billion IHS Towers Deal
MTN announced in February that it had agreed to acquire the approximately 75% of IHS Towers it did not already own.
The deal values IHS Towers at an enterprise value of approximately $6.2 billion, with IHS shareholders set to receive $8.50 in cash per share.
MTN already owns roughly 24% of IHS. The transaction is intended to bring the tower assets back under MTN’s control after the company previously sold tower portfolios to IHS and subsequently leased capacity from the infrastructure operator.
The wider transaction is expected to make IHS a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN once all conditions are met.
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Why MTN Is Selling Part of IHS Nigeria
The Nigerian sell-down is a regulatory requirement rather than a change in MTN’s broader plan to acquire IHS.
Under the FCCPC’s conditional approval, MTN must sell down up to 30% of the Nigerian component of the IHS business at market prices over time. MTN said it is comfortable with the condition.
MTN’s latest disclosure specifies that the Nigerian stake will be sold to local Nigerian investors. The company did not disclose a final investor list or sale price in its August 24 update.
Bloomberg’s latest report puts the stake being marketed to investors at about $1.1 billion in value.
The $1.1 Billion Figures Are Not the Same
The $1.1 billion value reported by Bloomberg should not be confused with the financing structure announced when MTN launched the IHS transaction.
When the acquisition was announced in February, MTN said the deal would be funded through its existing IHS stake, about $1.1 billion in cash from MTN, roughly $1.1 billion from IHS’s balance sheet, and the rollover of no more than the existing IHS debt.
IHS Deal Still Awaits Regulatory Clearance
The acquisition has not yet closed.
MTN said in its latest half-year results that IHS shareholders approved the transaction in August and that the remaining conditions are principally regulatory. The company expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2026, subject to receiving the required approvals.
Nigeria’s FCCPC has already granted conditional approval, with the 30% Nigerian sell-down forming part of those conditions. Other regulatory processes are still being completed.
For MTN, securing investors for the Nigerian stake would help satisfy one of the key conditions attached to its planned takeover while preserving its broader strategy of bringing IHS Towers under its control.
The deal would give MTN greater ownership of telecommunications infrastructure across its African markets, while the required Nigerian sell-down would give local investors a direct stake in IHS’s Nigerian tower business.
Source: Bloomberg
