MTN Nears Completion of $6.2 Billion IHS Towers Takeover After Securing Nigerian and COMESA Approvals

MTN has moved closer to completing its $6.2 billion takeover of IHS Towers after securing shareholder, Nigerian regulatory and COMESA approvals, leaving South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, ECOWAS and CEMAC as the final obstacles to one of Africa’s largest telecommunications infrastructure transactions.

MTN has moved closer to completing its $6.2 billion takeover of IHS Towers after securing shareholder and regulatory approvals covering Nigeria and parts of eastern and southern Africa.

The Johannesburg-listed telecommunications company said the transaction remained on course for completion before the end of 2026, although three important regulatory decisions were still outstanding.

Approvals are now required from South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC).

The deal would combine Africa’s largest mobile operator with the continent’s biggest independent telecommunications-tower company, giving MTN greater control over infrastructure serving its networks and those of competing operators.

Approvals Secured

In its latest quarterly update, MTN confirmed that IHS shareholders, Nigerian regulators and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) had approved the transaction. Reuters also reported that MTN still expects to complete the acquisition before the end of the year.

MTN announced the transaction in February, offering $8.50 for each outstanding IHS share. The offer would increase its existing interest of approximately 24.7% to full ownership and remove IHS from the New York Stock Exchange.

Reading the Two Figures

The two values attached to the acquisition measure different things.

The transaction gives IHS an enterprise value of approximately $6.2 billion. Enterprise value includes the company’s equity, debt and other financial obligations after accounting for cash.

However, MTN is paying about $2.2 billion for the roughly 75% of IHS shares it does not already own. That is the acquisition’s equity consideration rather than the value of the entire business.

The financing plan includes approximately $1.1 billion from MTN** and another **$1.1 billion from cash held on IHS’s balance sheet. MTN said it would not issue new shares to fund the transaction.

Once completed, IHS will become a wholly owned MTN subsidiary and cease trading in New York.

The Tower Footprint

The takeover will give MTN control of more than 28,000 towers across Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire and Zambia. IHS is the leading independent tower operator in all five markets.

Nigeria represents its largest operation, with almost 16,000 towers, followed by South Africa with approximately 5,700. IHS also has about 2,700 towers in Côte d’Ivoire, 2,400 in Cameroon and 2,000 in Zambia.

Nigeria Approves — But Demands Local Ownership

Nigeria’s approval comes with a significant ownership condition.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission requires MTN to sell up to 30% of the Nigerian component of IHS to local investors at market prices over time.

MTN has accepted the condition, which is intended to preserve Nigerian participation in infrastructure considered essential to the country’s digital economy.

The Nigerian Communications Commission also granted approval in principle, subject to conditions governing how the tower infrastructure will be managed and made available to other operators.

The requirement means MTN could own IHS at the group level while eventually sharing ownership of its Nigerian tower business with domestic investors — a structure that echoes Nigeria’s broader push for local participation in strategically important sectors.

South Africa’s Conditions

In South Africa, the Competition Commission has recommended that the Competition Tribunal approve the acquisition with conditions. The tribunal must make the final determination.

The recommended safeguards seek to:

• Protect jobs

• Preserve fair access to tower infrastructure

• Prevent MTN’s South African operation from receiving preferential treatment over competing telecommunications companies

They would also require IHS to remain operationally independent and protect commercially sensitive information belonging to its other customers.

That last condition addresses the central competitive concern: IHS leases tower space to MTN’s rivals, including Vodacom, Telkom and Cell C. If MTN controls the landlord, competitors will want assurance that access terms, pricing and service quality are not used as competitive levers.

The Strategic Rationale

MTN operates in every African market where IHS currently owns towers. Acquiring the company would allow MTN to bring infrastructure it previously sold or outsourced back under its control.

MTN says the combination would:

• Improve cost predictability

• Capture income currently paid to IHS

• Retain revenue generated from other operators that lease space on the towers

The group also expects the acquisition to increase earnings and free cash flow while strengthening the infrastructure needed to expand 4G, 5G and fixed-wireless services.

MTN served approximately 323 million customers at the end of September, including 181.7 million active data subscribers and 70.3 million active mobile-money users. Its networks processed $512.5 billion in financial-technology transactions during the first nine months of 2026.

Those figures explain why gaining greater control of the towers supporting its services is strategically important. Tower leases are among the largest operating costs for any African mobile operator; owning the towers converts an expense into an asset and captures the margin that previously flowed to a third party.

The Remaining Hurdles

The other outstanding approvals are from ECOWAS and CEMAC, whose decisions cover the transaction’s implications across West and Central Africa.

The acquisition is not yet completed. But with shareholder, Nigerian and COMESA approvals secured, the decisions from South Africa, ECOWAS and CEMAC now represent the final major regulatory obstacles.

Quick Facts

MTN is acquiring IHS Towers in a transaction with an enterprise value of approximately $6.2 billion**, paying about **$2.2 billion for the roughly 75% of shares it does not already own, having offered $8.50 per share**. Financing comprises about **$1.1 billion from MTN and $1.1 billion from IHS’s balance sheet, with no new shares issued.

Approvals have been secured from IHS shareholders, Nigerian regulators and COMESA. Still outstanding are South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, which has received a recommendation to approve with conditions, plus ECOWAS and CEMAC.

The deal would give MTN control of more than 28,000 towers — almost 16,000 in Nigeria, about 5,700 in South Africa, 2,700 in Côte d’Ivoire, 2,400 in Cameroon and 2,000 in Zambia — and delist IHS from the New York Stock Exchange.

Nigeria’s FCCPC requires MTN to sell up to 30% of the Nigerian tower business to local investors over time, while South Africa’s recommended conditions cover job protection, fair access, operational independence and data protection for rival tenants. MTN served about 323 million customers at end-September, with 181.7 million data subscribers and 70.3 million mobile-money users.

Source: Accra Street Journal

Last Updated on November 11, 2026 by Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu

Samuel Kwame Boadu is a Ghanaian media entrepreneur and storyteller with a passion for amplifying urban voices and uncovering everyday truths. He is the Editor-in-Chief and Founder of Accra Street Journal, a dynamic digital platform dedicated to capturing the pulse of Ghana’s capital—its people, culture, challenges, business, sports and innovations.

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