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IHS to raise funds to boost network
28 November 2011
African tower company IHS hopes to raise over $200m to double businesses in 2012
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IHS
Africa
towers
infrastructure
base stations
Nigeria
African telecoms infrastructure company IHS has approached investment firms in a bid to raise over $200 million to double its operational footprint in western Africa in 2012. According to the Financial Times, the firm has selected Citibank to raise additional equity to expand outside Nigeria, the country where it is listed.
IHS, which builds and rents out towers to operators, has 850 towers in Nigeria. The firm plans to increase this to over 2,000 in 2012, building its portfolio in Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, Congo, Ivory Coast and South Sudan.
Issam Darwish, CEO of IHS, stated that he estimates the overall value of the African tower market to be around $50 billion. Darwish added that the continent needs at least 50,000 additional masts to support growing voice and data traffic.
IHS will use the funding to acquire towers, and also to build in markets where there is a requirement for new towers or markets where there are fewer deals to acquire from operators.
The company raised $79 million in June 2011 and used this amount to acquire sites in Nigeria. The firm had also raised an additional $52 million, partly from private equity. GTB
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Helios Towers granted licence in Tanzania 26 Aug 2011