Norwegian telecom company Telenor has sought approval from the Indian government to increase its stake in Unitech Wireless to 74 per cent. It has also stated that it plans to invest up to Rs 112 billion ($2.24 billion) in the telecom company.
The original deal, signed in October 2008, involved Telenor buying 60 per cent stake in Unitech Wireless for Rs 61.2 billion. But in March 2009, Unitech agreed to give away another 7.25 per cent stake in its mobile phone business to Telenor at no additional cost, in return for not having to pump in more funds into the joint venture for the next two years and higher repayment of debt.
