IHS shareholders approve MTN’s full takeover plan

MTN has taken a step toward buying all of IHS, after the company’s shareholders gave their approval at a special meeting held on August 4, 2026.

More than two-thirds of the shareholders who voted said yes to the deal. This is one of the main conditions MTN needed to meet to move forward with the purchase.

Under the plan, MTN set up a short-lived company called Sub-Merger Co for this deal. That company will merge into IHS, while IHS will become a fully owned part of MTN.

Once the deal is finished, IHS will no longer be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The merger itself does not change IHS’s legal identity. Instead, the company will keep its registration, contracts, licences, and permits unless MTN later decides to make changes.

MTN first announced in February 2026 that it had agreed to buy the remaining IHS shares. The shareholder vote was a key step, but the deal is not yet done.

Ralph Mupita, MTN’s Group President and Chief Executive Officer, said the shareholder approval brings them closer to completing the transaction. He added that phone towers are a big part of MTN’s plan for 2030, and owning IHS fully will help the company grow as demand for digital services and artificial intelligence rises across Africa.

The deal still needs approval from regulators, and MTN said those processes are still ongoing.

There was also a backup resolution on the table that would have allowed the meeting to be postponed if the deal did not get enough support. That was ultimately not necessary as shareholders approved the merger.

Last updated: August 5, 2026