IHS Holding Limited shareholders have approved MTN Group’s proposed acquisition of the telecoms tower company, clearing one of the final conditions standing in the way of the deal. The vote took place at an extraordinary general meeting on August 4, 2026, where more than two-thirds of participating shareholders backed the transaction, satisfying the special resolution threshold required for approval.
The result means a second resolution, which would have allowed the meeting to be postponed if support fell short, was never needed.
How the deal is structured
MTN plans to take full ownership of IHS through a merger involving a temporary entity known as Sub-Merger Co, created specifically for the transaction. That entity will merge into IHS and cease to exist, leaving IHS as the surviving legal entity and a wholly owned subsidiary of MTN.
Importantly, the merger does not change IHS’s underlying legal identity. The company keeps its existing registration, contracts, licences and permits unless MTN later decides otherwise. Once the transaction closes, IHS will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange, ending more than four years as a publicly traded firm.
Strong backing before the vote
Ahead of the EGM, MTN had already lined up substantial support. Under a voting agreement signed in February, MTN’s shares, representing about 21.1 percent of IHS’s voting power, were committed in favour of the deal. Wendel, a long-term IHS shareholder through its investment vehicle, controlled a further 19.6 percent and had also pledged support.
What comes next
Despite clearing the shareholder vote, the transaction is not yet complete. It still requires regulatory approvals across the relevant markets in which IHS operates, along with other customary closing conditions before MTN can finalise full ownership.
The move reflects a broader pattern among African telecom operators seeking tighter control over infrastructure costs. Similar shifts have played out elsewhere on the continent, with operators taking direct ownership of fibre networks and power systems rather than relying on third-party tower arrangements.
For MTN, absorbing IHS would consolidate its position as a major digital infrastructure landlord across the markets it serves, at a time when tower assets are increasingly viewed as strategic rather than purely operational.
