Nigeria's communications and competition regulators have approved MTN's proposed $2.2 billion acquisition of IHS Towers, clearing a major hurdle in the group's bid to control the infrastructure that underpins connectivity for its more than 300 million customers.

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) granted the approval, according to MTN Group's earnings results for the first half of 2026, released on Monday.

"The transaction has received approval from various regulators, including Nigeria's Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission," MTN said.

The decision follows months of scrutiny. After the deal was announced in February, the Nigerian government said it wanted to assess the proposed acquisition for its future impact on the country's telecoms industry. Experts had raised concerns that MTN would hold a monopoly over tower infrastructure that serves other major Nigerian network providers, including Airtel Nigeria and T2mobile.

The Minister of Communications, Innovation, and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, explained that the review was intended to ascertain the deal's impact on the long-term sustainability, investor confidence, and performance of the industry. The assessment also formed part of a broader effort to stabilise the telecoms sector, which is regarded as a critical pillar of Nigeria's digital economy and a key input for mobile service reliability across the market.

While the regulatory approvals mean MTN's acquisition of IHS Towers is not expected to affect competition or the industry at large, Nigerian regulators have included a clause to keep that in check. MTN cannot retain 100% of IHS Nigeria; the operator is expected to sell a 30% stake in the Nigerian branch to local Nigerian investors at a fair market price.

"MTN will sell-down 30% of IHS Nigeria to local Nigerian investors, on an arms-length commercial basis and subject to market conditions," part of the statement reads.

The clause is expected to protect local competitors and prevent a single foreign giant from gaining total control over critical infrastructure. It also allows local businesses and investors to hold equity in essential national infrastructure such as telecom towers.

The proposed merger first came to light in early February, when MTN disclosed to investors its plan to acquire the remaining 75% stake in IHS Holdings. IHS Towers' stakeholders have since approved the acquisition, and the deal is expected to be finalised in the second quarter of 2026.

Separately, MTN has revealed plans to reduce the total number of its shares available on the market. The operator said it will spend $375.5 million (R6 billion) to buy back up to 31 billion of its own shares from the open market and effectively delete them.

"The share buyback programme is part of the shareholder remuneration framework announced with the launch of Ambition 2030, of delivering between 40% and 60% of equity free cashflow to shareholders either in cash dividends or share buybacks," the operator said.

Under the programme, each share represents a part of the company, and reducing the share count boosts metrics such as Earnings Per Share (EPS). This makes existing shares more valuable without the company having to earn additional revenue. MTN noted that the buyback will continue as long as the stock price adds value for remaining shareholders rather than wasting cash.

Buying back its towers and launching a share buyback programme form a significant pillar of the group's Ambition 2030 strategy, which centres on strengthening connectivity, fintech, and digital infrastructure.