MTN Group has moved closer to completing its proposed $6.2bn acquisition of IHS Towers after Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission granted conditional approval for the deal, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the telecom infrastructure transaction.

The approval was disclosed in MTN Group’s half-year 2026 results released on Monday. The company said the remaining conditions are primarily regulatory, with other approvals either in progress or expected soon.

Under the FCCPC’s approval, MTN is required to sell down up to 30 per cent of the Nigerian component of the IHS business over time at market prices.

“With regards to the FCCPC in Nigeria, conditional approval of the transaction has been received. This is conditional on MTN Group selling down up to 30 per cent of the Nigerian component of the IHS business at market prices over time. MTN is comfortable with the conditions as set out,” MTN stated in its results.

MTN Group said advancing the IHS Towers transaction remains one of its key priorities for the second half of 2026, adding that it expects the acquisition to contribute positively to revenue, earnings and free cash flow over time.

In February, MTN agreed to acquire the remaining shares in IHS Towers for $8.50 per share, which would increase its ownership of the tower company to 100 per cent, subject to regulatory and other closing conditions.

The proposed transaction would also result in IHS Towers being delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

The transaction would give MTN greater control of a telecommunications infrastructure business operating nearly 29,000 towers across Africa, with IHS serving mobile network operators across several of MTN’s key markets.

The deal has also secured shareholder approval, with IHS Towers investors voting in favour of the transaction at an extraordinary general meeting held in August. MTN said the acquisition is expected to close in the second half of 2026, subject to the completion of outstanding regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.

The Nigerian approval is particularly significant given the strategic importance of telecommunications infrastructure to the country’s mobile networks and the critical role tower companies play in providing sites for operators to deploy network equipment.

MTN has maintained a longstanding relationship with IHS Towers and has historically relied on tower sale-and-leaseback arrangements as part of its capital management strategy. The proposed acquisition would instead bring the remaining IHS business under MTN’s ownership, although the FCCPC’s condition requires the group to reduce its stake in the Nigerian component by up to 30 per cent over time.

MTN said the transaction remains subject to the necessary regulatory and other approvals, adding that the approval process is progressing.