MTN Group’s proposed acquisition of the remaining shares in IHS Towers has received conditional regulatory approvals in Nigeria, with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) requiring MTN to sell up to 30% of the Nigerian business to local investors.
MTN disclosed the development in its half-year 2026 results released on August 24, 2026, saying the FCCPC had approved the transaction subject to conditions, including the eventual sell-down of up to 30% of IHS Nigeria at market prices.
The company said the sell-down would take place over time and on an arm’s-length commercial basis, subject to market conditions.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has separately granted an Approval-in-Principle for the Nigerian aspect of the transaction. The approval remains subject to conditions relating to areas including corporate governance, commercial agreements, market access and investment.
MTN said it expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2026, subject to the fulfilment of the remaining conditions and regulatory requirements.
The deal is part of MTN’s broader plan to acquire the outstanding shares of IHS Holding Limited that it does not already own. When MTN announced the proposed transaction on February 17, 2026, it said the cash consideration for the shares it did not own was expected to be about $2.2 billion.
MTN already held approximately 24.7% of IHS when it announced the proposed acquisition. The wider transaction values IHS at approximately $6.2 billion, including debt, according to the company.
IHS Towers operates telecommunications towers used by mobile network operators across several markets, including Nigeria. Its Nigerian infrastructure hosts equipment belonging to MTN Nigeria and other telecom operators.
The FCCPC’s local ownership condition means MTN will not simply take full ownership of the Nigerian tower business and retain it indefinitely. Instead, up to 30% of the Nigerian entity will eventually be offered to domestic investors at market prices.
The condition also adds a local-investment dimension to one of the biggest telecommunications infrastructure transactions involving Nigeria in recent years. Nigerian institutional investors and other eligible domestic investors could gain an opportunity to take direct equity positions in a major tower infrastructure business.
MTN said the acquisition would allow it to bring tower infrastructure and associated economics closer to its core operations. The company expects the transaction to provide greater cost predictability, internalise margins currently paid to IHS and create opportunities to generate additional revenue from third-party tower customers.
For regulators, the conditions attached to the deal are intended to address competition and market-access concerns while ensuring that the ownership of critical telecommunications infrastructure does not become overly concentrated.
The transaction therefore marks more than a change in ownership of tower assets. Its final structure will determine how MTN balances control of strategic infrastructure with regulatory demands for competition and greater participation by Nigerian investors.
