Unitech gets stay on Uninor rights issue; Telenor to appeal

Underlining the disconnect between Norway's Telenor and India's Unitech Group on the rights issue of Uninor, a joint venture of the two groups, Unitech on Friday obtained a stay from a Gurgaon local court on Telenor's decision to go for a rights issue to meet expansion plans of the venture.

Telenor, Norway's biggest telecom company and the world's sixth-biggest, holds 67.25 per cent in the joint venture, Uninor, while Unitech has the rest. Telenor has said it will now approach a higher court to try and get the stay vacated.

Unitech, a real estate company that is listed on the Bombay and national stock exchanges, confirmed it had obtained a stay order. "The (stay) is on certain actions which Telenor was proposing to take as we believe it was not in the best interests of the shareholders," said a company spokesperson. "The court had recognised the merits in our viewpoint."

Telenor said the company expects the stay order will be lifted soon and the company can continue with its expansion in India. ''We trust that both shareholders will be committed to the future success of Uninor,'' the Norway company said.

Telenor also criticised its Indian partner, claiming that its representatives on the board of Uninor never opposed the rights issue. "The board of directors of Uninor had already approved the process of a rights offer to meet the funding requirements of the company," a spokesperson for Telenor said.

 "There is, however, now a stay order which halts the rights offer process. Telenor Group is petitioning the court to vacate the stay order so the decision of the company's board can be implemented and Uninor gets the funds it needs."