The MTN Group has reached an agreement to acquire IHS Towers, one of the world’s largest independent owners and operators of shared telecom infrastructure, in an all-cash transaction that values the company at an enterprise value of approximately $6.2 billion.
The deal follows weeks of negotiations between both parties, which had been publicly reported earlier this month.
The transaction would see the MTN Group take full ownership of IHS and delist the tower company, converting it into a wholly owned subsidiary.
MTN already holds a significant minority stake in IHS, one of Africa’s largest independent tower operators with tens of thousands of sites across major markets, including Nigeria.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has announced plans to subject the proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of IHS Holding Limited by MTN Group to a comprehensive regulatory review, citing the critical role of telecoms infrastructure in Nigeria’s economy and national security architecture.
Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said in a statement that the government was closely watching developments around the transaction.
The minister said the proposed acquisition would not be treated as a routine corporate transaction due to the sensitivity of telecoms infrastructure assets.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, IHS shareholders will receive $8.50 per ordinary share in cash, representing a 36% premium to its 52-week volume-weighted average price, and a modest 3% premium to its unaffected closing price of $8.23 on February 4, 2026.
