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MTN Group has moved a step closer to taking full control of IHS Towers after shareholders of the telecommunications infrastructure company approved the proposed acquisition of the remaining shares held by minority investors.
The approval, obtained at an IHS shareholder meeting on August 4, 2026, clears one of the major conditions attached to MTN’s plan to acquire the approximately 75% of IHS Towers it does not already own.
The proposed transaction is valued at about $2.2 billion (R35.4 billion) and would give MTN 100% ownership of the tower company.
The deal, however, remains subject to outstanding regulatory and other closing conditions before it can be completed.
Why MTN Wants Full Control of IHS
The acquisition goes beyond ownership of telecommunications towers.
IHS Towers operates nearly 29,000 towers across Africa, providing critical infrastructure used by multiple telecommunications operators across five key MTN markets.
For MTN, bringing the infrastructure business fully into the group aligns with its broader Ambition 2030 strategy, which is built around three major platforms and increasingly places infrastructure at the centre of the company’s long-term growth plans.
The strategic importance of towers is growing as mobile data consumption rises and demand expands for digital services, cloud computing, data centres and artificial intelligence infrastructure.
By owning IHS outright, MTN would have greater control over an infrastructure platform that supports the delivery of these services across several African markets.
Deal Expected to Lift MTN Earnings
MTN’s financial projections also provide a significant incentive for the acquisition.
The transaction was expected to contribute approximately R2.011 billion to MTN’s pro-forma profit for 2025.
On a pro-forma basis, the enlarged group would also record a 9% increase in EBITDA to R107.4 billion.
The financial benefits, however, come alongside a higher debt burden.
MTN’s projected net debt-to-EBITDA ratio would increase from 0.3 times to 0.8 times following completion of the transaction.
The increase remains relatively modest, but it highlights the financial trade-off involved in obtaining full ownership of the infrastructure business.
MTN and IHS Have a Long History
The proposed takeover represents an unusual reversal of an earlier infrastructure strategy.
In 2022, MTN South Africa sold 5,701 towers to IHS Towers for R6.4 billion, excluding approximately R4.6 billion in lease liabilities.
At the time, the transaction reflected a wider telecommunications industry trend in which operators transferred tower ownership to specialised infrastructure companies.
The model allowed telecom operators to concentrate capital on network operations and customer services while tower companies took responsibility for managing and maintaining physical infrastructure.
The Competition Commission of South Africa approved the 2022 transaction in March, subject to conditions covering areas including supplier development, B-BBEE ownership, tower deployment and fair access to infrastructure.
IHS subsequently became a major infrastructure partner for MTN, including providing power-management services across thousands of sites in South Africa.
From Tower Sale to Buyback
MTN’s current takeover therefore represents something of a strategic reversal.
On February 17, 2026, MTN announced that the IHS board had accepted its offer of $8.50 per share for the outstanding shares.
The offer followed a restructuring of IHS’s international portfolio, including the disposal of its Latin American assets.
Asset disposals announced or completed around February 11 and February 17 left IHS with a business that was more closely aligned with MTN’s African footprint.
MTN described the transaction as effectively buying back infrastructure it had previously sold while simultaneously gaining complete ownership of IHS’s wider African tower portfolio.
Shareholder Approval Removes Major Hurdle
The August 4 shareholder vote was therefore an important milestone for the transaction.
Before the meeting, the proposed acquisition still required shareholder approval alongside regulatory clearances and other conditions.
With shareholders now backing the deal, MTN has removed one of the major obstacles standing between the group and full ownership of IHS.
The approval does not mean the acquisition has closed, however, as the remaining regulatory and transaction conditions still need to be satisfied.
Africa’s Digital Infrastructure Becomes Strategic
The transaction also reflects a broader change in how African telecommunications companies view infrastructure.
For years, telecom operators increasingly separated tower assets from their businesses to release capital and allow specialist companies to manage the infrastructure.
MTN’s move in the opposite direction suggests that the strategic value of physical digital infrastructure is changing.
As demand for mobile data, broadband, cloud services, artificial intelligence and data-centre capacity increases, towers and related infrastructure are becoming increasingly important to the wider digital economy.
For MTN, controlling IHS could provide greater flexibility in how this infrastructure is deployed, managed and integrated into its broader digital strategy.
Higher Control, Higher Financial Exposure
The acquisition nevertheless comes with financial risks.
While the projected increase in profit and EBITDA could strengthen MTN’s earnings profile, the rise in its net debt-to-EBITDA ratio means the company will assume greater financial exposure.
The key question for shareholders will therefore extend beyond the immediate earnings contribution.
The longer-term test will be whether full ownership of IHS generates enough cash flow and strategic value to justify the additional financial commitment.
For MTN, the proposed acquisition is ultimately a bet that telecommunications infrastructure will become even more valuable as Africa’s digital economy expands.
If completed, the transaction would not only return thousands of towers previously sold by MTN to the group’s wider infrastructure portfolio, but would also give the telecom giant full control of one of Africa’s largest independent tower businesses.
