MTN Group announced that it has agreed to sell its tower portfolios in Rwanda and Zambia to IHS Holding. MTN will sell a total of 1,228 mobile towers to IHS’s subsidiaries in Rwanda and Zambia, comprised of 524 and 704 towers respectively, for undisclosed amounts. The sale of the towers is in line with MTN’s asset optimization strategy and builds on two previous deals with IHS in Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire, for a total of 1,758 towers.
Under the agreements, IHS will acquire and operate the towers and related passive infrastructure and will invest in a build-to-suit programme to support MTN’s future requirements in both countries. MTN Rwanda and MTN Zambia will become the respective anchor tenants on the towers for an initial term of ten years. The transactions bring the total number of towers in IHS’s portfolio to 10,500. IHS will market services on the towers in Rwanda and Zambia, promoting tower sharing and colocation. Each transaction is expected to close independently during the first half of 2014, subject to customary closing conditions.
