IHS to expand African network

African telecoms infrastructure company, IHS has approached investment groups to raise more than $200 million to double the size of its business across Western African states next year, FT.com reports.

The company, which builds and rents out phone towers to mobile operators, has appointed Citibank to raise additional equity to expand outside Nigeria, where it is listed.

IHS CEO Issam Darwish points out that Africa requires at least another 50 000 masts, as demand for voice and traffic data increases on the continent, African Business Review reveals.

"Voice penetration is about 60% across Africa, but real penetration is about 10% to 15% less than that. So there will be a massive growth in voice traffic that will need building to ensure more capacity, while data use is almost non-existent and will grow rapidly," says Darwish.

IHS will use the funding to acquire towers, and also to build in markets where there is a requirement for new towers, Global Telecoms Business says.

The company raised $79 million in June 2011 and used this amount to acquire sites in Nigeria. The firm had also raised an additional $52 million, partly from private equity.