Issam Darwish, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IHS
IHS Holding Ltd., Africa’s largest independent phone-tower company, raised $2.6 billion in debt and equity to expand its operations on the continent.
Closely held IHS will get $2 billion from existing and new shareholders and a further $600 million through a loan facility, the Lagos, Nigeria-based company said in a statement today. The debt is split between U.S. dollar and naira denominations over 7- and 8-year terms.
“We are clear in our ambition to play a leading role in the creation of the widest, most efficient and reliable mobile networks in Africa,” Chief Executive Officer Issam Darwish said in the statement. “The contribution of our investors significantly strengthens our position.”
IHS has more than 20,000 towers following acquisitions from MTN Group Ltd. (MTN) and Etisalat Nigeria earlier this year. The company got about $304 million from Wendel SA, which owns about 26 percent of IHS. Other investors in the new round of funding include FFP and Sofina SA.
