The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) has approved MTN Group’s $2.2 billion acquisition of IHS Towers, subject to conditions aimed at addressing competition concerns in Nigeria’s telecommunications infrastructure market.

As part of the approval, the FCCPC has required MTN Group to sell down up to 30 per cent of its stake in the Nigerian component of IHS Towers at market prices over time.

The condition is intended to prevent MTN from gaining excessive control over telecommunications infrastructure services in Nigeria and to address concerns about its position relative to competitors, including Airtel and T2 Mobile.

The approval means MTN will not have unrestricted control of Nigeria’s telecommunications tower infrastructure following the acquisition.

IHS Towers plays a major role in supporting mobile telecommunications infrastructure, including the expansion of mobile broadband, 5G and other digital services across African markets.

The deal comes as MTN continues to strengthen its financial position and expand its operations. The telecoms group recently approved a R6 billion ($375 million) share buyback after reporting strong first-half results.

MTN’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) increased by 24.4 per cent to R56 billion in constant-currency terms.

Its service revenue also rose by 9.7 per cent to R115.3 billion on a reported basis and by 17.5 per cent in constant-currency terms.

The company’s subscriber base increased by 6.7 per cent to 317.7 million, while the number of active data users grew by 9.1 per cent to 179.3 million.

The FCCPC’s condition on the IHS transaction is therefore designed to balance MTN’s expansion with the need to maintain competition and fair access to critical telecommunications infrastructure in Nigeria.