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Norway-headquartered global telecom major Telenor is close to buying a substantial stake in Unitech Wireless, the telecom arm of the realty major Unitech, for about $1.5 billion.
In case the deal goes through, for Unitech it would be Telenor over Telecom Italia. On the other hand, for Telenor, this deal would mean preferring Unitech Wireless over Datacom Solutions, the telecom company jointly owned by Videocon and Vinay Maloo (formerly of HFCL group) which is fast losing its early-mover advantages because of disputes between the two shareholders, sources said. When Sigve Brekke, Telenor's Asia chief was contacted by TOI for his comment on these deals, Esben Tuman, communications director, Telenor Asia, replied that as a principle the company does not comment on speculation. ‘‘Although we do not comment on speculation, I can in general say that we evaluate opportunities on a continuous basis, including both expansion within regional clusters and complementary businesses in existing markets,'' Tuman noted in the email reply. Sanjay Chandra, MD, Unitech, said that the company was talking to multiple players and would finalise the partner over the next couple of weeks. Chandra declined to name the companies with whom Unitech was talking but said it was being represented by UBS. Sources said Telenor is being represented by Goldman Sachs. ‘‘We expect to launch our services early next year,'' Chandra said. The in-principle agreement for the deal could be inked anytime after the recent visit of a top team from Telenor's Asia headquarters in Bangkok, sources said.
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Source: India Times