MTN Group has agreed to reopen talks with prime continental tower operator IHS Holding in a bid to resolve governance points which have positioned a wedge between the businesses for greater than a 12 months.
MTN, which is IHS’s greatest shareholder, has sought voting rights in keeping with the 26% financial curiosity it owns within the tower firm and desires extra energy to appoint board members, which IHS has pushed again on.
Following a breakthrough in business talks that noticed MTN and IHS renew tower leases of 26 000 websites throughout six African markets, negotiations on governance points at the moment are additionally again on the desk, the businesses mentioned.
“The renewal of the varied contracts throughout our markets into the following decade put MTN operations within the respective markets onto a extra sustainable footing,” MTN CEO Ralph Mupita mentioned of the lease agreements.
“We sit up for working constructively with IHS on the excellent governance points now that business preparations have been concluded.”
The stress between the 2 firms began way back to June final 12 months, when an IHS annual assembly devolved right into a standoff over investor energy after the African tower operator dismissed calls for from its two largest shareholders, MTN and Wendel.
Whereas IHS managed to succeed in an settlement with Wendel on the French shareholders issues over governance, it nonetheless wants to barter with MTN to try to attain an settlement. — (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP
