IHS Towers said it has signed a multi-million dollars agreement with MTN Group Ltd to acquire 5,709 telecommunication towers in South Africa.
IHS Towers will pay MTN Group the sum of $412 million (ZAR6.4 billion) for the towers. Also as part of the terms of agreement, IHS Towers will provide Power-as-a-Service (“PaaS”) to MTN Group at some 12,800 sites across South Africa.
IHS Towers expects that the deal will help it to deliver revenue and adjusted EBITDA (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization) of approximately $220 million and $80 million, respectively, over the next financial year.
This deal makes IHS Towers the largest independent telecom infrastructure operator in South Africa. The company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sam Darwish, said this is just a tip of the iceberg of all the good things that are about to happen.
“I am exceptionally proud to announce IHS’ creation of the largest independent tower operator in South Africa, which represents the start of a new chapter in South Africa’s telecommunications infrastructure sector. The country has a growing population of almost 60 million people and we are committed to utilizing our operational expertise to invest in the towers acquired and provide cutting edge power services where necessary.
“Our long-standing relationship with MTN Group, coupled with our two decades of operation on the African continent and track record of delivering consistently strong network uptime, will enable us to deliver an infrastructure capable of meeting South Africa’s increasingly sophisticated data demands. Although we have expanded into new regions over the last two years, this agreement is testament to our continued commitment to facilitating mobile connectivity across the African continent.”
As one of the largest independent operators and developers of shared telecom infrastructure in the world, IHS Towers operates in seven major African markets as well as four additional markets in Latin America and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.
A recent Initial Public Offering (IPO) made the company the largest Africa-focused company on the New York Stock Exchange.