Telenor Unitech agrees to exit Uninor JV

Xen

EntMnt Ambassador
Official Info
The long-standing battle between Norway-based Telenor ASA and Indian real-estate major Unitech Ltd over the ownership and funding of their Indian joint venture (JV) telecom services provider Uninor has come to an end with the two partners seeming to have settled their differences. A statement to this effect was issued.

The terms of the settlement were not immediately known. “The parties are bound by confidentiality obligations, and are therefore not able to provide any further comments on specific terms and conditions of the settlement. However, it can be confirmed that the parties agree to support the transfer of the business in Unitech Wireless (Uninor) to a new entity (NewCo) controlled by Telenor.

Unitech has agreed to dispose of its shareholding in Uninor for a nominal amount and Unitech shall continue to retain its economic rights associated with its current shareholding in Unitech Wireless,” a statement from Unitech said.

As per the statement, effective 10 October, Unitech nominees will withdraw from the Uninor Board and all special shareholder rights stand suspended. The statement added that subsequent to a successful business transfer and spectrum auction, all disputes and claims between the parties would stand withdrawn.

The two partners have been battling each other for some time now, initially over the future funding of the JV, and then after the cancellation of it telecom licences, over the ownership of the assets of the company.

The battle has included a number of court cases in various courts as well as international arbitration in Singapore.

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Xen

EntMnt Ambassador
Official Info
Unitech settles with Telenor for Rs 25 crore


Nearly five years after venturing into telecom and investing over Rs 600 crore, real estate major Unitech decided to part ways with Telenor, its Norwegian partner in the mobile venture, paying a nominal Rs 25 crore to settle its messy dispute.

Sources said Unitech decided to settle the dispute after Telenor slapped a Rs 6,500 crore indemnity claim. Both companies wanted to settle the issue as a protracted legal battle was not helping either's cause. "This was a big overhang for Unitech and would have stretched its financial capacity," said a source familiar with the developments. Both companies, however, declined to comment on the settlement amount, citing a confidentiality clause but sources confirmed the deal to TOI.
 
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