MTN Group is to exchange its 51% interest in Nigeria Tower InterCo, the parent company of Nigerian telecom tower operator INT Towers for an additional shareholding in IHS Holding.
As a result of the transaction, MTN’s economic interest in IHS Group will increase from approximately 15% to approximately 29%.
As a result of this exchange, all of MTN’s interest in IHS will sit alongside a world-class group of investors including Wendel, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) and Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), among other international investors.
The transaction will let MTN simplify its tower ownership structure and diversify its tower infrastructure exposure across the IHS Group, which operates in a number of markets across Africa.
MTN’s executive chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, says that “the transaction represents a significant step in MTN’s long-standing partnership with IHS. It simplifies our ownership structure and diversifies our tower investments across the IHS Group. IHS Group is extremely well positioned for future growth and build-out from 3G upgrades and the move to LTE across its key markets.”
Issam Darwish, executive vice-chairman and group CEO of IHS Group, says: “The MTN transaction and partnership was transformational for IHS and has allowed us to invest a significant amount of capital to better serve our customers, accelerate our growth and the development of critical telecommunications infrastructure across Africa.
“We are delighted to announce the transaction which simplifies the shareholding structure of IHS Group and marks an important milestone as we strengthen our capital structure and our position as the leading independent tower company in EMEA.”
