The Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) has hailed MTN’s planned acquisition of IHS Towers as the most consequential development in Nigeria’s telecoms sector in a quarter century, saying it reflects growing investor confidence and a more stable regulatory climate.
ALTON chairman Engr. Gbenga Adebayo made the remarks during a visit to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), telling journalists that the transaction is a clear sign of a sector in good health.
“It speaks to the state of health of the industry,” Adebayo said, recalling that just a few years ago, the conversation in the sector was about survival, not growth. “Three years ago, we were talking about sustainability. Even those entities were struggling. This would not have happened then.”
He argued that the sheer scale of the deal sends a powerful message to global markets. No rational investor, he said, commits capital to an environment without predictable returns — and the fact that this transaction is happening at all is proof that Nigeria’s telecom market has turned a corner.
IHS Towers, which operates roughly 16,000 towers across Nigeria, holds a central place in the country’s telecom infrastructure. Adebayo took a moment to celebrate its origins, noting that the company was founded by two Nigerian brothers, Sam and Mo, and built into a global brand from Nigerian soil — not the other way around.
He also credited the Nigerian Communications Commission for creating the kind of regulatory certainty that makes transactions of this magnitude possible, contrasting the current environment with an earlier era when operating licenses could be revoked through a radio announcement.
“Nowhere do you see this level of transaction if the policy environment is not right,” he said.
Adebayo called on all stakeholders — regulators, policymakers, and industry players alike — to get behind the deal rather than fuel speculation about potential regulatory hurdles from bodies like the Securities and Exchange Commission. He urged the public to extend good faith to the process, acknowledging that there may be details not yet visible to outside observers.
In his view, mergers and acquisitions of this nature are not causes for concern but markers of a maturing, thriving market.
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