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African mobile mast operator IHS Towers seeks valuation of more than $7bn

IHS Towers, crucial neutral operator of mobile phone towers in Africa, is searching for a valuation of better than $7bn in its preliminary public offering in what could be the most important US itemizing by an African agency.

The group, which operates better than 30,000 towers in 5 African nations along with in several markets in South America and the Heart East, is offering 22.5m shares at a price of $21 to $24 a share, consistent with a submitting with the US Securities and Change Price made on Monday. The offering will embrace present shareholders selling 4.5m shares, the company acknowledged.

South Africa’s MTN, crucial African mobile phone agency by subscribers, owns 29 per cent of IHS. Totally different stakes are held by Goldman Sachs and Wendel, the French private equity investor.

IHS, which is the world’s fourth biggest neutral tower operator, could elevate about $380m in net proceeds on the middle of the offering price fluctuate, consistent with the regulatory submitting.

Telecoms groups in Europe and Africa have been offloading stakes in masts and completely different infrastructure as they pare down their corporations and try and monetise belongings which could be attractive to merchants.

The IHS offering moreover marks one different stage in a progress in infrastructure funding centered on boosting net adoption in African markets. Along with investor curiosity in phone masts, info centre operators and subsea cables supplying the continent have moreover attracted worldwide capital in present months, a sample accelerated by the pandemic.

MTN, which valued its stake in IHS at about R30bn ($2bn) on the end of June, is counting on a listing of a company to hurry up billions of {{dollars}} in asset product sales and could be close to selling and leasing 1000’s of its private cell towers in South Africa.

IHS reported adjusted earnings sooner than curiosity, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of $490m and income of $77m inside the six months to the tip of June. The group’s cash owed are about two cases its adjusted ebitda over the earlier yr.

The company has moreover invested intently in towers open air Africa, along with hanging presents in Brazil and Colombia this yr, nonetheless its earnings are dominated by its most essential market of Nigeria the place it was based mostly in 2001 and is the first operator. Nigeria could be MTN’s biggest market by subscribers.

IHS signalled ultimate yr that it was exploring a US itemizing nonetheless confronted unstable equity markets via the pandemic. Goldman, Citi and JPMorgan are joint lead underwriters on the offering.

https://www.ft.com/content material materials/be946fc2-2668-41af-b38d-d889a820507a | African cell mast operator IHS Towers seeks valuation of better than $7bn

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