MTN Group has announced that it will exchange its 51% interest in Nigeria Tower InterCo B.V., the parent company of INT Towers Limited (“INT”), the Nigerian telecom tower operator, for an additional shareholding in IHS Holding Limited (“IHS Group”) (the “Transaction”). As a result of the Transaction, MTN’s economic interest in IHS Group will increase from about 15% to nearly 29%. There are no conditions precedent to the Transaction and it is expected to close once the new shares in IHS Group have been issued during the first quarter of 2017.
In exchanging all of its interest in INT in Nigeria for additional shares in the pan-African IHS Group, all of MTN’s interest in IHS will sit alongside a world-class group of investors including Wendel, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), Korea Investment Corporation (KIC) and Emerging Capital Partners (ECP), among other international investors.
The Transaction enables MTN to simplify its tower ownership structure and diversify its tower infrastructure exposure across the IHS Group which operates in a number of markets across Africa. Moreover, the Transaction will better enable MTN to crystallise value for MTN’s shareholders in the future. The investment in IHS Group allows MTN to benefit economically from its previously owned passive infrastructure and continued network investment.
MTN’s Executive Chairman, Phuthuma Nhleko, said that “the transaction represents a significant step in MTN’s long-standing partnership with IHS. It simplifies our ownership structure and diversifies our tower investments across the IHS Group. IHS Group is extremely well positioned for future growth and build-out from 3G upgrades and the move to LTE across its key markets.”
Issam Darwish, Executive Vice Chairman and Group CEO of IHS Group, said: “The MTN transaction and partnership was transformational for IHS and has allowed us to invest a significant amount of capital to better serve our customers, accelerate our growth and the development of critical telecommunications infrastructure across Africa. We are delighted to announce the transaction which simplifies the shareholding structure of IHS Group and marks an important milestone as we strengthen our capital structure and our position as the leading independent tower company in EMEA.”
The Transaction is a Category 2 transaction in terms of the JSE Listings Requirements.
