JOHANNESBURG, Feb 5 – MTN Group has confirmed it is engaged in advanced negotiations to acquire the outstanding 75% stake in IHS Holdings that it does not already own, a transaction that could place the enterprise value of the tower company at approximately $2.76 billion.
The Johannesburg-listed group said any potential offer would be based on IHS Holdings’ most recent closing price on the New York Stock Exchange.
IHS shares ended Wednesday’s session down 5% at $8.23, implying a market valuation of about $2.76 billion, based on Reuters estimates. The company is also listed on the Frankfurt exchange.
MTN currently leases thousands of towers from IHS in key markets including Nigeria and South Africa and is already a significant shareholder in the company.
A successful transaction would give MTN greater strategic control over its network infrastructure, which has become increasingly central to cost management and service quality across African telecoms markets.
The company cautioned that no binding agreement has yet been reached. If the talks do not result in a deal, MTN said it would consider other ways to unlock value from its existing stake while remaining within its established capital allocation framework.
MTN and IHS Towers have maintained a long-standing commercial relationship, with MTN being IHS’s largest customer across several African countries.
Any move to consolidate ownership would mark a significant shift in the region’s telecom infrastructure landscape, where operators have increasingly relied on independent tower companies to manage costs and expand coverage.
