ABUJA, Aug 25 – MTN Group has received conditional approval from Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) for its acquisition of the remaining stake in IHS Towers, clearing a major regulatory hurdle in its $2.2 billion takeover of the tower company.
The approval requires MTN to sell up to 30% of its stake in the Nigerian part of IHS at market prices over time.
“MTN is comfortable with the conditions as set out,” the company said in its interim financial results for the six months ended June 30, 2026.
The condition addresses a key competition concern because IHS Nigeria operates nearly 16,000 telecom towers used by MTN Nigeria and rival operators, including Airtel and T2 Mobile. Giving MTN full ownership could have given a major operator control over infrastructure that its competitors depend on to run their networks.
The sell-down gives regulators a way to address these concerns without blocking the transaction. MTN will still retain majority ownership of IHS Nigeria while bringing the tower business more firmly under its control.
The Nigerian condition means MTN will not have full control over IHS Nigeria, but retaining a majority stake should allow it to preserve the central benefits of the acquisition. The condition also raises a broader question about infrastructure ownership in a market where one operator has a significant position.
The sell-down could also help MTN manage the financial impact of the wider IHS transaction.
MTN is acquiring the remaining roughly 75% of IHS Towers that it does not already own as part of a deal with an enterprise value of about $6.2 billion. Selling part of its Nigerian stake at market value would allow MTN to recover some of the capital tied up in the acquisition and potentially reduce pressure on its balance sheet.
MTN said its service revenue growth slowed in the first half of 2026 but expects growth to accelerate in the second half, supported by the normalisation of airtime lending in Nigeria, the annualisation of last year’s Nigerian price adjustments and a recovery in MTN South Africa’s prepaid business.
It also expects continued momentum from Ghana and its operations across Southeast Asia and Francophone Africa.
