CITIZENS COMPASS—IHS in Nigeria, a subsidiary of IHS Holding Limited
(NYSE:IHS) (“IHS Towers”), one of the largest independent owners, operators, and developers of shared communications infrastructure in the world by tower count, and MTN Nigeria (NGX:MTNN), a subsidiary of Africa’s largest mobile network operator MTN Group (JSE:MTN), on Wednesday, announced an agreement to renew and extend all Nigerian tower Master Lease Agreements until December 2032, covering approximately 13,500 tenancy contracts.
With regards to the approximately 2,500 MTN Nigeria tenancies that are due to expire at the end of 2024 and in 2025, under the new terms, IHS Towers will renew 1,430 tenancies (including new locations).
The renewed and extended contracts include new financial terms that provide what the parties believe to be a more sustainable split between local and foreign currency, as well as a new diesel-linked component. The arrangement is a testament to the criticality of IHS Towers’ infrastructure and the strong operational links between IHS Towers and MTN, Nigeria’s largest mobile network operator, with approximately 79 million subscribers.
Under the new terms, there is a USD component that will continue to benefit from annual escalators linked to US Consumer Price Index, a NGN component that will benefit from escalators linked to the Nigerian Consumer Price Index, and a new component indexed to the cost of providing diesel power, introduced to act as a hedge against diesel prices and FX fluctuations.
This marks a significant milestone for IHS Towers as it has now completed the renewal of all tower MLA’s in Nigeria, a testament to the deepened relationship between the two companies.
Sam Darwish, Chairman & CEO, IHS Towers, said, “We are delighted to announce the renewal and extension of our agreement with our largest customer, MTN Nigeria. This marks a significant milestone for IHS Towers as it has completed the renewal of all tower MLA’s in Nigeria, a testament to the deepened relationship between the two companies.
We are cognizant of the challenges faced in emerging markets and are proud to extend our relationship into the next decade, working together to navigate global and local macro conditions while broadening mobile connectivity in Nigeria through our critical infrastructure.”
