Telenor could follow in the footsteps of Vodafone and buy 100% of its Indian unit Uninor, following a recent change in local regulation.
Sigve Brekke, the Norwegian company’s head of Asia, told the Economic Times that Telenor is considering acquiring…
Telenor could follow in the footsteps of Vodafone and buy 100% of its Indian unit Uninor, following a recent change in local regulation.
Sigve Brekke, the Norwegian company’s head of Asia, told the Economic Times that Telenor is considering acquiring all the shares it does not own in the mobile operator “now that we know it’s allowed”.
But he added that there is “no immediate plan to do this” because all the attention is on the recent spectrum auction.
In February, Uninor secured additional frequencies in the 1,800 MHz band in four of its six existing service areas, as well as in a new area, for US$136m to improve its voice and data capacity.
Telenor ended its partnership with Indian real estate group Unitech in Uninor following a bitter dispute last year. It has since found a new JV partner in Lakshdeep Investments & Finance, which owns 26% of the wireless player. Telenor holds the remaining 74%.
Last September, Indian authorities removed the maximum 74% threshold for foreign investments in telcos. Vodafone was the first operator to take advantage of the new legislation by boosting its 64% direct stake in Vodafone India to 100% for US$1.6bn.
