Telenor pumps in Rs 1.4 k-cr more, ups Unitech Wireless stake to 60%

Norway-based Telenor ASA on Friday announced its third round of investment of Rs 1,493 crore in Unitech Wireless. With this, the Nordic operator?s stake in Unitech Wireless has increased to 60%. Telenor plans to hike its stake to 67.25% in Unitech Wireless eventually, while it has approval from the government to hike its stake up to 74%, the highest permissible to a foreign operator in the telecom sector. Before this, Telenor invested Rs 1,250 crore in the first tranche for a 33.5% stake and later another Rs 1,130 crore for a further 15.5 % stake.

?This third investment will as the earlier transactions provide Uninor with working capital to fund the roll out of services across India,? Sigve Brekke, executive vice-president, and head of Telenor Group Asian Operations said.

Telenor had acquired 67.25% stake in Unitech Wireless for Rs 6,120 crore. With the latest round of investment, it has pumped in Rs 4,110 crore. It has now to investment the remaining Rs 2,010 crore.

Last month, Unitech Wireless launched its GSM services in the country under the brand Uninor. Unitech Wireless is a subsidiary of the real estate company, Unitech Ltd. It was among the new licensees that received licences in 2008 to launch mobile services. It is currently operating in eight circles across the country. Unitech Wireless is the only telecom operator, which refused to join the ?per second billing? tariff plan which initiated the tariff war in the country.

In a departure from the standard practice of dividing the country into 22 circles, Unitech Wireless operates in 11 hubs across the country. These hubs have a head each and receive support from the head office based out of Gurgaon.

?The additional investment will allow Uninor to proceed as per business plan and successfully expand operations in India. Our shareholders stand confident and committed to the venture,? said Stein-Erik Vellan, managing director of Uninor. Commenting upon the capital infusion, Unitech Ltd MD Sanjay Chandra said, ?Fresh equity investment from Telenor is as per the initial plan.?