Telenor, the Norway based telecom service provider that owns 67.25% in Indian Telco JV, Uninor, has informed that it’s Indian JV has initiated a rights issue of Rs 8200 crore ($1.65 billion) to get long term funding, reports Reuters (via The Economic Times). In a statement to Reuters, a Telenor spokesman said that the company is hopeful that JV partner Unitech will also subscribe to the rights issue, and that Telenor was not looking to make any changes to the ownership structure of Uninor. The company intends to raise money through the rights issue since it’s not in a position to get bank loans, owing to the 2G scam and the arrest of Unitech Wireless MD, Sanjay Chandra. Telenor or VS Unitech Uninor had earlier proposed a rights issue of Rs 6,500 crore, which was challenged by its JV partner Unitech in the District Court of Gurgaon. The court had put a stay. Although, Telenor had challenged the stay in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Court decided to continue with the stay till Telenor approached the Supreme Court, which directed the High Court to review the case. The High Court recently lifted the stay on the rights issue. The media report also cites a source with knowledge of the developments, who informs that Unitech's representatives on the joint venture's board had raised objections on the proposed pricing of the rights issue. An earlier report had also indicated that Telenor may induct a second Indian partner if Unitech does…
