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U.S.-Nigerian telecom telecom entrepreneur Sam Darwish stands to receive about $115 million in cash for his stake in IHS Towers, the company he co-founded in Nigeria in 2001, under MTN Group's agreed takeover.
Darwish holds 13,481,900 shares, according to his most recent filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. At MTN's offer of $8.50 a share, that converts to roughly $114.6 million.
MTN agreed in February to buy the roughly 75 percent of IHS it does not already own for about $2.2 billion, valuing the tower operator at $2.9 billion in equity and $6.2 billion including debt. The price represents a premium of about 239 percent over IHS's share price when it announced a strategic review in March 2024.
Funding the deal
MTN met international bond investors in London last week in a non-deal roadshow arranged by Absa, Bank of America, Citigroup and MUFG, its first substantial engagement with the market since 2016. No offering was marketed. MTN says the meetings were routine investor dialogue not tied to a transaction.
The group faces a $500 million Eurobond maturing in October and says it has sufficient resources to repay it without returning to the market. The IHS purchase is structured around rolling over MTN's existing stake, contributing about $1.1 billion of its own cash, drawing about $1.1 billion from IHS's balance sheet, and rolling over existing IHS debt.
MTN reported revenue of about R115 billion ($7.1 billion) in the first half and serves close to 320 million subscribers.
Why IHS is selling
IHS carried $3.27 billion of borrowings as of the third quarter of 2025, roughly 85 percent denominated in foreign currency, with significant maturities falling due in 2026 and 2027. Currency volatility, rising diesel costs and tighter refinancing conditions for standalone tower operators have pressured the company.
It has been shedding assets. It sold its Rwandan subsidiary and 1,467 sites to Paradigm Tower Ventures in 2025, agreed in February to sell its 51 percent of I-Systems in Brazil, and moved to divest its Brazilian and Colombian holdings at an enterprise value of $925 million.
The remaining African business comprises about 29,000 towers across five MTN markets. Darwish has said IHS will maintain service standards and governance for customers across the continent.
Wendel, the French listed investment firm and a major IHS shareholder, signed a voting agreement supporting the transaction. The deal requires shareholder and regulatory approvals and is expected to close this year.
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