MTN’s $6.2 billion IHS takeover could deliver $109.8 million to founder Sam Darwish

U.S.-Nigerian telecom entrepreneur Sam Darwish is poised to receive about $109.83 million if MTN Group completes its planned acquisition of IHS Towers, one of the world’s largest independent telecom infrastructure companies. The all-cash transaction, announced on Feb. 17, 2026, values the company at roughly $6.2 billion in enterprise value.

Under the terms of the deal, shareholders will receive $8.50 per share, representing a 36% premium to IHS Towers’ 52-week volume-weighted average price as of Feb. 4, 2026, and a 3% premium to the unaffected closing price of $8.23 on that date. Darwish, the company’s founder and longtime CEO, holds a 3.9% stake, equivalent to 12,921,750 shares, which would be bought out for $109,834,875.

Expansion continues across emerging markets
In 2025, IHS added 385 tenants, secured 1,566 lease amendments, and constructed 207 new towers, including 136 in Brazil. These initiatives reflect the company’s broader strategy to strengthen infrastructure coverage, enhance service reliability, and support rising demand for mobile and data services across its operating regions.

If MTN’s $6.2 billion acquisition proceeds as planned, the deal will crystallize the value Darwish has created over more than two decades, marking a significant milestone in his journey of building IHS into a global telecom infrastructure powerhouse.

The deal, backed by MTN Group, has also secured shareholder support from IHS’s second biggest shareholder, Wendel Group, a long-term investor holding 18.9% shares of IHS.

IHS Management said the offer delivers compelling value to shareholders, representing a 239% premium to the share price at the start of the company’s strategic review on March 12, 2024.

Darwish, chairman and CEO of IHS Towers, said the transaction provides shareholders with immediate cash at a time of heightened market and geopolitical uncertainty across the company’s core operating regions.

Darwish’s IHS growth story
Founded in 2001, IHS Towers grew under Darwish from a small Nigerian telecom infrastructure firm into a global leader managing more than 39,000 towers across Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East. The company serves as a key backbone for mobile connectivity in several fast-growing emerging markets.

Over two decades, Darwish oversaw expansion through strategic tower acquisitions, network build-outs, and long-term lease agreements with major mobile operators. His leadership established IHS as one of the most closely watched independent telecom tower operators for global investors.