- MTN Group has agreed to reopen discussions with tower operator IHS Towers to resolve ongoing governance issues. This follows the renewal of tower leases covering 26,000 sites across six African markets.
- MTN CEO Ralph Mupita stated that the renewal of these contracts places MTN’s operations in the respective markets on a more sustainable footing.
- He added, "We look forward to working constructively with IHS on the outstanding governance issues now that commercial arrangements have been concluded."
MTN had sought voting rights to nominate board members. In June 2023, the IHS board rejected a proposal from Wendel and MTN, which called for shareholders with at least a 10% stake to have the authority to nominate board members.
While IHS has reached an agreement with Wendel, it still needs to negotiate with MTN.
In July 2024, IHS Towers announced the results of its 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, noting that all proposals put to the vote had been adopted. This included an amendment to the company’s memorandum and articles of association, reducing the threshold for shareholders to nominate directors from 30% to 10% on an individual shareholder basis.
Specifically, MTN Nigeria has renegotiated the renewal and extension of a tower master lease agreement with IHS, covering over 13,500 tenancy contracts through December 2032, including the renewal of 1,430 MTN Nigeria tenancies.
The new pricing structure includes three components that will act as a hedge against fluctuations in diesel prices and foreign exchange rates.
The renegotiation, which began in April 2024, extends all existing contracts to December 31, 2032. The leases would have expired between December 2024 and December 2029.
The renegotiated terms aim to mitigate macroeconomic risks, support margin recovery, and address MTN’s negative equity position.
MTN Nigeria, which reported a 2.9% increase in total subscribers to 79.4 million for the half-year ending June 30, 2024, expressed that the renegotiation with IHS Towers will support its recovery, as it recorded net forex losses of ₦887.7 billion during the period.
