MTN’s IHS Towers takeover advances as regulator demands fair access

MTN, Africa’s biggest mobile operator, is one step closer to taking full control of IHS Towers, a telecoms infrastructure company, in South Africa, but regulators are putting guardrails around what that ownership means for its rivals.

The Competition Commission, South Africa’s competition regulator, approved the $2.2 billion acquisition on September 30 with conditions requiring IHS infrastructure to remain available to competing operators on fair and non-discriminatory terms, limiting MTN South Africa’s ability to benefit from owning infrastructure that rivals also…