IHS
IHS was founded in 2001 and is one of the world’s largest independent owners, managers and operators of telecoms towers.
It is a leading player in the EMEA region in terms of the number of towers. The group builds, rents out and manages telecoms towers on its own account and on behalf of third parties. IHS works with leading mobile phone operators in each of its markets and is very well positioned to benefit from strong growth in infrastructure requirements in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
Having initially focused on Nigeria, IHS has grown through acquisitions and now also operates in Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Zambia and Rwanda. It has also expanded outside of Africa into Kuwait, Brazil, Colombia and Peru, thereby establishing itself as a leading player in emerging markets.
- Investment date
- 2013
In 2024
As of 30 September 2024, IHS manages a fleet of 40,650 towers across eleven countries in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America.
In 2024, the company continued to develop in an unfavourable economic environment marked by the sharp devaluation of the Nigerian Naira. For 2024, the company aims to achieve revenue of between $1.67 billion and $1.7 billion, down approximately 20% over the year due to currency depreciation, and EBITDA of between $900 million and $920 million, i.e. a margin of approximately 54%. At 30 September 2024, net debt stood at $3.7 billion, representing a gearing ratio of 3.9x.
The company initiated a plan to dispose of assets in an amount between $500 million and $1,000 million. An initial disposal to Kuwait was completed at the end of 2024 for an enterprise value of $230 million.
Peugeot Invest's investment
Peugeot Invest has invested $78 million in IHS through four capital increases. After an initial investment of $5 million in 2013 alongside the Emerging Capital Partners (ECP) fund, Peugeot Invest invested a further $10 million in early 2014 then $60 million in November 2014, including $50 million alongside Wendel.
IHS has been listed since November 2021. Peugeot Invest holds 1.5% of the capital.
Key figures
- Number of towers
- 40,650