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Nigerian tower company IHS raises $2.6bn in debt and equity [IntelliNews - Weekly Reports](IntelliNews - Weekly Reports Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Nigeria-based telecom infrastructure company IHS Holding said it has signed agreements for a capital raising of $2.6bn, comprising $2bn in equity from unspecified existing and new shareholders, and a loan facility of $600mn. The company claims that this is the largest equity raising in Africa since 2007. The loan facility includes both dollar and naira-denominated debt with maturities of seven and eight years. IHS said it intends to use the proceeds to fund recently agreed tower acquisitions and new site build plans, as well as to support the roll out of greener and more efficient power systems, including solar systems and high efficiency generator units, to its towers. In September, South Africa-based telecoms group MTN agreed to transfer the operation of its 9,151 mobile network towers in Nigeria to IHS. Under the deal, MTN's towers business will be transferred to a new company, which will be owned jointly by MTN and IHS, with IHS having full operational control of the business. Financial details about the transaction were not disclosed, but media reports have suggested that MTN's Nigerian towers are worth about $1.8bn. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close by the end of this year. The new towers joint venture has pledged to invest more than $500mn over four years into tower upgrades and a maintenance programme to improve the quality of service on the MTN Nigeria network. The MTN deal is set to strengthen IHS' position as one of the largest tower companies in Africa. In August, IHS agreed to buy 2,136 towers from Etisalat Nigeria, part of UAE's state-owned telecoms group Etisalat, saying that upon the conclusion of the transaction, expected later this year, it will own and manage over 6,540 towers in Nigeria. Currently, IHS manages over 10,000 towers in Nigeria, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Zambia and Rwanda. It has previously bought MTN's tower business in Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Rwanda and Zambia. Since 2012, IHS has raised a total of $4.5bn. There is a wider shift in Africa towards co-location and leasing mobile communications towers from independent tower operators, as the maintenance of towers is typically more expensive than in other regions because of security costs and electricity shortages. In July, India-based telecoms group Bharti Airtel agreed to sell 3,100 telecom towers in four African countries to Helios Towers Africa (HTA), and in September it agreed another sale, of more than 3,500 telecoms towers in six African countries to Eaton Towers, as part of a wider drive to sell its all 15,000 towers across 17 African countries. Media reports have suggested that France's Orange is in talks to sell a number of towers in Sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt. (c) 2014 Emerging Markets Direct Media Holdings LLC Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |