MTN Group has moved a step closer to completing its proposed $6.2bn acquisition of IHS Towers after the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission granted conditional approval for the deal.
The approval, disclosed in MTN Group’s half-year 2026 results, removes a major regulatory hurdle for the telecommunications infrastructure transaction. The company said the remaining requirements are mainly regulatory, with other approvals either in progress or expected soon.
However, the FCCPC approval comes with a condition requiring MTN to sell up to 30 per cent of the Nigerian component of the IHS business over time at market prices.
MTN said it was comfortable with the condition and remained committed to completing the transaction.
The proposed acquisition would see MTN increase its ownership of IHS Towers to 100 per cent, following an agreement reached in February to acquire the remaining shares at $8.50 per share.
The deal has already received approval from IHS shareholders, who voted in favour of the transaction at an extraordinary general meeting in August.
If completed, the acquisition would also result in IHS Towers being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.
IHS Towers operates nearly 29,000 telecommunications towers across Africa, providing infrastructure used by mobile network operators in several countries where MTN operates.
MTN said the acquisition remains one of its key priorities for the second half of 2026 and expects the transaction to increase its revenue, earnings and free cash flow over time.
The Nigerian regulatory approval is particularly significant because telecommunications towers are critical to the deployment and expansion of mobile networks across the country.
MTN has maintained a long-standing relationship with IHS, including through tower sale-and-leaseback arrangements. The proposed takeover would now give MTN greater control of the infrastructure company, although the FCCPC condition means it will have to reduce its ownership of the Nigerian component by as much as 30 per cent.
MTN expects the transaction to close in the second half of 2026, subject to the remaining regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
