MTN Group has moved a step closer to taking full ownership of IHS Holding after shareholders approved the company’s proposed acquisition of the remaining approximately 75 percent stake in the telecom tower operator.
The approval was secured during an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held on August 4, where shareholders passed the transaction with the required two-thirds majority. While the vote clears a major hurdle, the acquisition remains subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions before it can be completed. If approved, IHS will become a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN and will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
IHS is one of the world’s largest independent owners and operators of telecom towers, with operations across Africa and Latin America. MTN already owns about 24 percent of the company, and the proposed transaction would give the telecom giant complete ownership of its tower business.
MTN doubles down on infrastructure ownership
The proposed acquisition reflects MTN’s growing focus on controlling the infrastructure that powers its mobile networks.
For more than a decade, telecom operators across Africa adopted an asset-light strategy by selling thousands of mobile towers to specialist infrastructure companies and leasing them back. The approach helped operators unlock billions of dollars tied up in physical assets while allowing them to focus on expanding mobile and digital services.
MTN was among the companies that embraced this model. In South Africa alone, the company transferred more than 5,700 telecom towers to IHS in 2022 through a sale-and-leaseback transaction, while similar agreements were completed in several African markets.
Now, the company is reversing part of that strategy. By bringing the infrastructure back under its control, MTN expects to strengthen operational efficiency, improve long-term planning, and gain greater flexibility as demand for digital services continues to grow.
Digital infrastructure is becoming a competitive advantage
Commenting on the shareholder approval, MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Raph Mupita described the decision as an important milestone toward completing the transaction.
“The approval by IHS shareholders is an important step toward completion of the transaction. Within our Ambition 2030 strategy, towers are a critical value creation driver that will strengthen MTN’s strategic and financial position for the future,” Mupita said.
His comments reflect a broader shift taking place across Africa’s telecommunications industry.
According to the GSMA, mobile technologies and services contributed around $170 billion to Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy in 2024, representing about 8 percent of the region’s GDP. As more consumers adopt smartphones and businesses rely on cloud computing, AI, video streaming, and digital payments, telecom operators are under increasing pressure to invest in stronger and more reliable infrastructure.
In that environment, telecom towers are no longer viewed as just physical assetsāthey have become essential infrastructure supporting Africa’s growing digital economy.
Regulators still have the final say
Despite shareholder approval, the transaction cannot move forward until regulators complete their review.
In Nigeria, the proposed acquisition has already attracted government attention because IHS plays a significant role in the country’s telecommunications infrastructure. The company operates more than 16,000 telecom towers in Nigeria, making it one of the country’s largest independent tower providers.
Earlier this year, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani, said the acquisition would undergo a comprehensive regulatory review rather than being treated as a routine corporate transaction.
According to the minister, the government’s priority is to ensure that any consolidation within the telecom industry protects consumers, preserves competition, and supports the long-term growth of Nigeria’s digital economy.
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Why telecom operators are rethinking infrastructure ownership
Africa’s digital economy is expanding at a rapid pace. Every online payment, AI-powered application, cloud service, video stream, remote work session, and social media interaction depends on telecom infrastructure to keep people connected.
The GSMA projects that Sub-Saharan Africa will have more than 750 million mobile subscribers by 2030, with mobile internet adoption continuing to rise as smartphone ownership and network coverage improve. That growth will require operators to invest heavily in the infrastructure needed to support future demand.
For years, outsourcing tower ownership made financial sense because it reduced costs and released capital for network expansion. But the rapid growth of AI, cloud computing, 5G, and data-intensive digital services is changing that calculation.
Rather than viewing telecom towers as expensive assets to manage, operators are increasingly treating them as strategic infrastructure that can improve network quality, support new technologies, and create long-term competitive advantages.
If regulators approve MTN’s acquisition of IHS, the deal will not only reshape the company’s infrastructure strategy but also signal a broader shift across Africa’s telecom industry, where ownership of digital infrastructure is becoming just as important as the digital services built on top of it.