IHS Towers has completed the acquisition of over 5,701 cellular and radiocommunications towers from MTN in South Africa.
With the completion of the 6.4 billion South African rand (US$412m) deal, IHS now owns 70 percent of the South African towers business, with the remaining 30 percent owned by a Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) consortium.
“With the regulatory approvals and all conditions precedent to the deal finalized, we are pleased to have IHS bring global capabilities to our South Africa network," MTN group president and CEO Ralph Mupita said.
IHS Towers will provide power management services to MTN on approximately 13,000 sites across Africa, including the 5,701 towers acquired in this deal.
“The closure of this acquisition is an important milestone in IHS’s growth story," Sam Darwish, IHS Towers chairman/CEO, said. "IHS was founded in Africa and the region continues to be a key anchor for our company. Through this transaction, IHS has now entered the most industrialized economy in Africa as South Africa’s largest independent tower operator."
IHS now has an operational footprint in 11 emerging markets, with seven in Africa, and four in Latin America and the Middle East. The company has a global tower count of nearly 39,000 towers.