IHS Holding has completed the acquisition of Helios Towers Nigeria’s 1,211 diversified tower sites throughout Nigeria.
HTN and IHS established the mobile telecommunications infrastructure industry in Nigeria in the early 2000s and this transaction, announced on the 10th of March 2016, is the first in-market consolidation in Africa.
Under the terms of the transaction, IHS acquired the entire issued share capital of HTN and now has full operational control of the underlying business. Business will continue as usual for HTN’s towers which will be seamlessly integrated into the IHS network and connected to IHS’s state of the art network operating centre which monitors each tower 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The transaction allows for the continued delivery of best-in-class solutions to customers and additional investment in infrastructure upgrades. IHS is maintaining HTN's existing relationship and position with its bondholders; a meeting of bondholders held on 22 April 2016 agreed to waive any redemption rights which may have arisen in respect to the change of control.
Issam Darwish, Executive Vice Chairman & Group Chief Executive Officer of IHS, said: “The completion of this transaction is significant in that it combines Africa’s two original tower companies and will enable us to strengthen our service offering to our customers while focusing on their needs. We remain committed to the Nigerian tower market and this transaction provides IHS the opportunity to optimise a larger portfolio through innovative green energy solutions and delivery of market leading quality of service.”
Transactions such as the acquisition of HTN have allowed IHS to create significant local technical and engineering employment opportunities throughout Africa. Over 95% of IHS’s employees are African and IHS employs close to 40,000 people directly and indirectly through its exclusive subcontractors.
