MTN Group said Tuesday that it will pay about $2.2 billion to acquire the remaining shares of IHS Towers it does not already own, a transaction that values the company at an enterprise value of about $6.2 billion.

Cravath Swaine & Moore LLP is advising MTN, while Latham & Watkins LLP and Walkers (Cayman) LLP are advising IHS Towers.

MTN, which already owns about 24.7% of IHS, said it will pay $2.2 billion for the remaining shares, to be funded through cash of about $1.1 billion on IHS's balance sheet along with available liquidity and debt from MTN.

The deal, expected to close in 2026, is subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, and IHS will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange upon closing of the transaction.

IHS said in a separate statement that its board has unanimously approved the merger agreement and plans to recommend the deal to shareholders.

The $8.50-per-share offer represents a premium of about 9.7% to IHS's 30-day volume-weighted average share price as of Feb. 4, the companies said. IHS's stock was down about 2.2% Tuesday afternoon, trading around $8.11 per share.

IHS's business includes nearly 29,000 towers across Africa serving multiple mobile network operators in five key MTN markets, the companies said.

MTN said reintegrating the tower assets would allow it to internalize margins currently paid to IHS, improve cost predictability and capture future third-party revenues.

"This proposed transaction is a pivotal step in further strengthening MTN Group's strategic and financial position," MTN Group President and CEO Ralph Mupita said in a statement.

IHS Chair and CEO Sam Darwish said the deal would deepen the companies' long-standing partnership and provide shareholders with "certainty and immediate returns."

The Cravath team is led by corporate partners Richard Hall and Philip J. Boeckman.

The Latham team is led by corporate partners Marc Jaffe, Ian Schuman, Josh Dubofsky and Javier Stark.

Deal team information for Walkers (Cayman) LLP was not immediately available.