Norwegian telco Telenor has completed its purchase of Lakshdeep Investment & Finance’s 26% stake in Indian unit Telewings (Uninor), boosting its stake to 100%.
Telenor paid Rs7.8bn (US$126.9m) to buy out its former local JV partner, a spokesperson for…
Norwegian telco Telenor has completed its purchase of Lakshdeep Investment & Finance’s 26% stake in Indian unit Telewings (Uninor), boosting its stake to 100%.
Telenor paid Rs7.8bn (US$126.9m) to buy out its former local JV partner, a spokesperson for the Oslo-based operator confirmed.
The acquisition was finalised after Telenor received approval from the Indian government’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to raise its stake from 74%.
Telenor applied to take full control of Uninor in June, taking advantage of a 2013 regulation change allowing foreign companies to own 100% of local telecoms assets, up from 74% previously.
Sigve Brekke, EVP of Telenor Group and chairman of the Uninor board, said the company has a long-term view on India and is encouraged by the strong growth of its local unit.
“The company continues to capture market share every month and is leading in new subscriber additions in many of its circles,” he said.
Uninor’s revenues in the first half of 2014 were more than 40% higher than in the same period the previous year, Telenor said. Earlier this year, the Indian unit expanded its services to include basic internet services and nearly 20% of subscribers are now active internet users, the company added.
Uninor is the eighth largest of India’s 13 mobile network operators with about 33 million subscribers across seven telecoms service areas. It intends to launch services in Assam early next year.
UK-based Vodafone was the first operator to secure clearance from the FIPB to take full control of its local unit. US telco AT&T and Russia’s Sistema have also filed applications.
