en.Wedoany.com Reported - On June 4, IQSTEL, a U.S. communications, AI, and digital services company, announced the signing of a binding memorandum of understanding to acquire a 51% controlling stake in Ghana-based Ultranet Telecom Group. If completed, this transaction will become IQSTEL's largest acquisition to date and further expand its coverage in the African communications and digital services market.
Ultranet is a telecommunications and technology company serving African and international markets, with operations spanning Ghana, Nigeria, Mali, Burkina Faso, Senegal, and Côte d'Ivoire, as well as commercial activities in Europe, Asia, and North America. One of its core assets is six exclusive international SMS gateway agreements signed with major African mobile operators, granting Ultranet exclusive rights to route international SMS traffic in specific markets. For IQSTEL, taking control of Ultranet not only provides access to the communications markets of multiple African countries but also enables more direct business synergies between its existing international voice, SMS, connectivity, mobile financial services, and AI digital service platforms and Ultranet's operational network in Africa.
The transaction is expected to add approximately $130 million in annual revenue and about $4.5 million in net profit to IQSTEL, pushing the company's annualized revenue run rate beyond $500 million. IQSTEL previously operated in 21 countries with interconnection relationships with over 600 telecom operators, offering international voice, SMS, messaging, connectivity, and mobile financial services to telecom operators and enterprise clients. If the integration of Ultranet proceeds smoothly, the combined platform is expected to cover approximately 30 countries across five continents, bringing IQSTEL closer to its long-term goal of building a $1 billion global technology-driven enterprise.
The industrial logic behind this deal centers on the growing demand for communications infrastructure and digital services in Africa. The African mobile communications market is still in a phase of sustained expansion in user scale, cross-border payments, international SMS, enterprise connectivity, and digital identity services, with strong underlying demand for operator interconnection, international message routing, and fintech services. The SMS gateway resources and regional operational network controlled by Ultranet can provide IQSTEL with relatively stable recurring revenue streams; in turn, IQSTEL can channel its global commercial infrastructure, AI capabilities, digital services, and capital resources into the Ultranet platform, helping the latter further expand into Middle Eastern and Asian markets.
The transaction is still at the memorandum stage, with both parties planning to advance a definitive purchase agreement within 60 days and targeting completion in the third quarter of 2026. The deal's completion remains subject to due diligence, final agreement negotiations, regulatory approvals from the National Communications Authority of Ghana and the Nigerian Communications Commission, and other customary closing conditions. Under the transaction structure, part of the consideration will be tied to Ultranet's net profit targets over the next 24 months, meaning IQSTEL will mitigate integration risks through a performance-based earnout mechanism and link the seller team's subsequent operational performance to the transaction value.
Ultranet CEO Raymond Oppong-Dapaah is expected to continue overseeing daily operations after the acquisition. For IQSTEL, this arrangement helps maintain Ultranet's customer relationships, operational pace, and channel continuity in the local African market; for Ultranet, gaining access to IQSTEL's global network and digital service capabilities could extend its business scope from a regional African communications platform to a broader international connectivity, AI, fintech, and enterprise digital services market. The key to the subsequent transaction lies not only in the controlling stake itself but also in whether IQSTEL can convert Ultranet's gateway agreements, regional customers, and operational capabilities into a higher-margin portfolio of cross-border communications and digital services.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
