MTN ensures 12-month pay for IHS employees forward of takeover

As MTN Group strikes nearer to finalising its takeover of IHS Holding Restricted, it has supplied staff a measure of certainty: no less than 12 months of assured pay and core advantages following the deal’s completion.  

The dedication, outlined in merger paperwork filed with the US Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) on Wednesday, February 18, establishes a one-year safety interval for workers transitioning into the mixed entity.

IHS Towers had 2,864 staff globally as of December 31, 2024, making the assurances important throughout a number of markets. The pledge is prone to ease considerations amongst staff in nations resembling Nigeria, the place each corporations play outsized roles in sustaining telecom infrastructure.

The $2.2 billion deal would carry below MTN’s management a London-headquartered tower firm that ranks among the many largest impartial operators in rising markets. IHS owns and manages roughly 39,000 telecom towers throughout Africa, the Center East, and Latin America, with Nigeria serving as its largest market. 

If accomplished, the merger would deepen MTN’s vertical integration by folding IHS’s tower portfolio extra tightly into its community technique and increasing its management over crucial connectivity infrastructure throughout the continent.

Part 6.7 of the Settlement and Plan of Merger, filed with the SEC, establishes a 12-month “Continuation Interval” starting on the merger’s efficient date. Throughout this era, MTN should keep compensation and advantages at ranges no much less beneficial than these in place previous to closing. 

This consists of preserving base salaries or hourly wages, sustaining considerably comparable short-term money incentive alternatives, and offering worker advantages, together with retirement, well being, and welfare plans, which are broadly comparable in mixture to current preparations. Outlined profit pensions and sure localised post-employment advantages are excluded, however the core compensation framework stays protected.

MTN has additionally dedicated to honouring current IHS severance preparations. Workers terminated in the course of the Continuation Interval would obtain severance advantages no much less beneficial than these supplied below pre-merger insurance policies.

Fairness awards may also be addressed. Vested inventory choices and restricted inventory items are anticipated to be cancelled and transformed into money funds based mostly on the per-share merger consideration. Unvested awards could also be transformed into cash-based retention incentives that proceed vesting on their authentic schedules, encouraging continuity in the course of the transition.

MTN will recognise staff’ prior years of service at IHS for functions resembling profit eligibility, vesting, and trip accrual, making certain that tenure is just not reset following the merger.

Though the settlement doesn’t preclude future restructuring, the 12-month protections sign an try to take care of operational stability as two of Africa’s largest telecom infrastructure corporations combine their operations. In markets resembling  Nigeria, the transaction can also be anticipated to face regulatory scrutiny to make sure compliance with native labour and change-of-control necessities.