The Department of Telecom has finally allowed Uninor to transfer its assets to Telenor’s new company Telewings.
The new company has also acquired the unified licence in six circles.
“We can confirm that the new unified licences have been received. This is licence and spectrum for 20 years in the six circles of UP East, UP West, Bihar and Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Goa, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat,” said a company spokesperson.
The new company will continue to offer services under the Uninor brand name. Telenor Group had also applied for and received approvals to raise its shareholding to 74 per cent.
Norway’s Telenor had won spectrum in six the circles in the November auctions for Rs 4,018 crore. Earlier, the company had paid Rs 1,658 crore for pan-India licences in 2008. These licences, jointly owned with real estate major Unitech, have been quashed by the Supreme Court along with all the other licences issued on or after January 10, 2008.
New entity Telenor plans to continue operations in six circles under the new entity Telewings, which it had floated as a 100 per cent subsidiary. But it dropped its stake to 49 per cent at the time of taking the new unified licence to comply with the FDI norms.
Telenor found a new Indian partner — Sudhir Valia, brother-in-law of Sun Pharmaceuticals Founder Dilip Shanghvi.
Telenor has signed a partnership agreement with Lakshdeep Investments & Finance, a privately held entity controlled by Valia, who is also executive director of Sun Pharma