MTN Puts Cellphone Towers Up for Sale for R 6.4 Billion, Sold to IHS Towers

• The MTN Group in South Africa and IHS Towers have struck a multi-billion rand deal for MTN's towers
• The sale and leaseback deal involves the sale of more than 5000 towers but does not include active components of the towers
• MTN says the deal was struck for the benefit of its clients and the profits will be used to invest in high-demand spectrum frequencies

JOHANNESBURG - MTN Group will sell a huge portion of its South African tower property to IHS Towers in an R6.4 billion agreement after a "lengthy competitive process." The deal includes leaseback the towers.

The deal between the two companies means that MTN will not be ways with active or radio aspects of the towers but has sold off 4 000 “greenfield” and 1 700 rooftop sites.

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The deal entails the outsourcing of power and related services ("power as a service, or PaaS") throughout MTN South Africa's complete site network of over 12 800 sites, according to MoneyWeb.

MTN South Africa says the deal will ensure that retail and wholesale clients will receive better service from the company as well as create substantial value.

The company says any profits made as part of the deal will be reinvested to grow MTN and secure "high-demand spectrum frequencies", according to a report by ITWeb. The deal will kick off in 2022.

MTN allegedly planning to take over Telkom, combining the 2 telecommunications companies

Briefly News previously reported that inside sources say MTN, South Africa's second-largest telecommunications company, has its eye set on acquiring Telkom.

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MTN is said to have already approached Telkom about a takeover, however, Telkom has shown no interest in selling the company, which is now the third-largest cellphone network firm.

According to Fin24, the negotiations talks between the two telecommunications companies are currently being kept confidential and there is uncertainty on whether or not MTN will continue to pursue Telkom.

MTN has had a great financial year and the company's shares have grown by 117% in value. The company is now valued at R319 billion while Telkom's worth is R29 billion.

A merger between the two companies would close the gap with competitor Vodacom which has been South Africa's largest telecommunications firm.

Source: Briefly News