Nigeria to scrutinize MTN Group’s $6.2 billion IHS Towers acquisition

Nigeria’s government will subject MTN Group’s proposed $6.2 billion acquisition of IHS Towers to regulatory scrutiny, signalling heightened oversight over a deal that could reshape the country’s telecoms infrastructure landscape.

Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy Minister Bosun Tijani said the ministry would review the transaction alongside relevant regulators to assess its impact on competition, consumers and long-term sector stability.

“The Ministry will undertake a thorough assessment of this development in collaboration with the relevant regulatory authorities to review its impact on the sector. Our objective is clear: to ensure that any market consolidation or structural changes protect consumers, safeguard investments, and preserve the long-term sustainability of the sector,” Tijani said.

The review highlights the strategic weight of telecom infrastructure in Africa’s largest economy, where mobile networks underpin banking, digital services, e-commerce and government platforms. The federal government said the assessment is necessary given the sector’s importance to national security, economic growth and social inclusion.

Making Sense of the Deal

MTN Group, the Johannesburg-based parent company of MTN Nigeria Plc, has agreed to acquire the remaining shares of IHS Towers, in which it already owns about 25%, taking its stake to 100%. Following completion, IHS is expected to delist from the New York Stock Exchange and become a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN Group.

While the headline value of the deal is $6.2 billion, investment analyst Abdulrauf Bello noted that the immediate cash impact is lower.

“Yesterday, it was reported that MTN Group completed a $6.2bn acquisition of IHS Towers. The first thing to note is that the entity that completed this deal was MTN Group (the South African telecoms giant), and it should not be confused with MTN Nigeria PLC (its Nigerian subsidiary),” Bello said.

“Based on how the deal was structured, MTN Group will only be paying $1.1bn cash – a direct hit to the Group’s balance sheet. The other deal terms were structured.”

IHS is one of the world’s largest independent telecom tower operators, with roughly 29,000 towers across Africa, about 19,000 of them in Nigeria — giving it an estimated 60% market share locally. Tower companies typically build and maintain sites, leasing space to multiple operators to generate predictable rental income.

MTN sold thousands of towers over a decade ago as part of an asset-light strategy. Bringing them back in-house marks a strategic pivot. According to Bello, direct ownership could lower long-term site rental costs, improve flexibility for 4G, 5G and fibre rollout, and reduce foreign-exchange exposure at the Nigerian subsidiary level.

MTN Nigeria will remain a tenant and continue booking tower costs as operating expenses, but its counterparty would become a sister company rather than an external landlord. That shift, analysts say, could allow internal repricing, more flexible lease terms and better treasury management of dollar-linked obligations.

For regulators, however, the consolidation raises competition questions in a market where infrastructure access is critical for smaller operators.