Norwegian telecom service provider Telenor has increased its stake in its Indian subsidiary Telewings Communications (Uninor) to 74 percent by investing around Rs 1,000 crore.
Subsequent to receiving approvals, Telenor has made additional investments in India. With this, Telenor Group’s ownership in the Indian company Telewings now stands at 74 percent, according to a Telenor spokesperson.
Telenor formed Telewings in partnership with Lakshdeep Investments & Finance which held 51 percent stake in the joint venture.
Vodafone plc of the U.K. recently sought foreign investment promotion board (FIPB) approval to increase stake in its India to 100 percent.
Sources in the government said Telenor has brought in about Rs 10 billion and informed concerned departments about change is shareholding structure of Telewings in which the Norwegian firm now holds 74 percent.
Telenor participated in November 2012 spectrum auction through Telewings and won spectrum for operating in six circles of Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP East, UP West, Bihar (including Jharkhand) and Andhra Pradesh.
The company continues to operate under brand name Uninor which was created under its partnership with real estate firm Unitech.
All licenses of Uninor were cancelled in February 2012 by the Supreme Court along with 100 other 2G permits.
Uninor had to bid for spectrum afresh to continue its operations.