The largest telecom mast operator in Nigeria, IHS Towers is said to have suspended its proposed $1 billion initial public offering, IPO.
According to people not named by Bloomberg, the planned would be shelved because it might coincide with Nigeria’s general elections which will hold next February.
The IHS IPO was planned to raise money for a company that is heavily exposed to 9mobile, a debt-ridden fourth-largest mobile carrier that was taken over by its debtors last year.
IHS is not alone in suspending its IPO. The duo of Helios Towers Plc and Eaton Towers Ltd., have both also suspended their IPOs due to similar concerns.
IHS’s major shareholders are MTN Group of South Africa and Goldman Sachs, two of its largest shareholders who might be looking at getting something out of the company after the IPO.
