Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Latham & Watkins are advising on South African telecommunication group MTN's proposed $6.2 billion all-cash takeover of IHS Tower, Africa’s largest communication infrastructure provider. MTN, listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has agreed to acquire the remaining IHS shares it doesn’t already own, giving the telecoms company control of more than 29,000 towers in Nigeria, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia and Rwanda. Latham & Watkins’ cross-border team representing IHS Towers is led by New York capital markets partners Marc Jaffe and Ian Schuman with finance advice provided by London partners Hendrik Smit and Julie Van der Meersche. It isn't the first time Latham has acted for IHS. The team also led on an IHS IPO in 2021 led by Jaffe and Schuman. Cravath’s team acting for MTN is led by New York partner Richard Hall and includes finance partner Philip Boeckman and tax partner Arvind Ravichandran. In 2021, Boeckman also represented MTN subsidiary Mobile Telephone Networks (Netherlands), one of the shareholders connected with the $378 million IPO of ordinary shares of IHS Holding. The MTN-IHS transaction is the second mega-deal involving Cravath announced outside of the U.S. in the past week. The firm is also advising Germany’s Hapag-Lloyd on its acquisition of shares in ZIM Integrated Shipping Services, a deal valued at about $4.2 billion. Local Counsel in Africa The Nigerian government will be scrutinising the MTN-IHS deal for national security and economic risks. Aspects of the transaction will also require legal advice from firms in South Africa, where MTN is listed, and in Nigeria, which hosts the largest number of IHS towers, according to a source familiar with the deal. South Africa’s Webber Wentzel has previously acted for MTN while HSF Kramer’s Johannesburg office has advised IHS. Meanwhile, Dentons, Templars and Olaniwun Ajayi have advised IHS in Nigeria and Aluko & Oyebode previously worked for MTN. The MTN-IHS transaction is expected to close in 2026, subject to conditions, including IHS’ disposal of its Latin American businesses. The infrastructure provider will also be delisted from the NYSE on the conclusion of the deal. MTN and IHS have been contacted for comments.