LAGOS, Mar 17 – IHS Towers has begun overhauling its tower portfolio, allowing underperforming tenants to exit sites while converting outstanding dues into structured repayment agreements, as it prepares for its proposed $2.2 billion sale to MTN Group.
The clean-up effort is anchored by a revised deal with 9mobile, now rebranded as T2 Mobile, which has struggled with liquidity in Nigeria’s telecom market.
Under the agreement, the operator will vacate 2,576 tower sites nationwide and repay part of its overdue obligations through July 2027. While the total debt was not disclosed, IHS reported gross debt of about $4.2 billion in its 2025 financial report.
The restructuring led to a reduction of 3,836 tenants over the year. However, the company replaced uncertain lease income with contracted repayment flows, improving revenue visibility ahead of the MTN transaction.
At the same time, IHS trimmed its physical footprint. Total towers declined by 1,639 year on year to 37,590 sites by the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. Most of the drop came from the sale of its Rwanda operations, which accounted for 1,467 towers. Excluding that divestment, the portfolio saw a smaller reduction of 172 sites.
Operationally, activity on existing sites remained firm. IHS added 580 new towers during the year and recorded 4,328 lease amendments, bringing total amendments to 43,999. These typically involve upgrades such as 5G equipment and power solutions installed on existing infrastructure.
Revenue from continuing operations stood at $397.8 million in the fourth quarter, up 1.2% from a year earlier, supported by new tenants, lease upgrades and contractual price adjustments.
