IHS Holding Ltd., Africa’s largest independent telecommunications infrastructure company by number of towers managed, has secured US$490 million of equity and debt in its latest financing round. The round expanded IHS’ base of leading institutional shareholders and was priced at a premium to IHS’ July 2013 funding.
This is strong validation of the growing strength of the IHS platform throughout its 12-year track record in Africa. Solid support from existing investors was combined with strong participation from Goldman Sachs, the IFC Global Infrastructure Fund and African Infrastructure Investment Managers.
This funding round brings the total amount of capital raised by IHS to more than $1.5 billion over the last 12 months. IHS will utilise the proceeds of the round to finance acquisitions, help its customers expand coverage and capacity by building new towers and continue investing in alternative energy and green solutions that have a positive impact on the communities throughout Africa.
Issam Darwish, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, IHS, said: “This important milestone confirms the broadening investor interest in the African telecommunications infrastructure space generally, and in IHS, in particular. We are excited to welcome our new investors to the IHS family and look forward to expanding support to our customers and partners throughout the continent. This funding will allow us to continue investing in technology, coverage and capacity new build sites, and the growing human resource component that will help IHS continue providing a quality service and product to an expanding customer base in Africa.”
IHS Towers currently owns and manages over 10,500 towers and has built over 3,500 for its clients across Nigeria, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, making it Africa’s largest independent mobile infrastructure provider by number of towers managed. In Q4 2013, IHS signed agreements with MTN in Zambia and Rwanda to acquire over 1,200 sites in Zambia and Rwanda.
