Telenor told to keep Unitech as partner in India

Efforts by Telenor to bid in the upcoming Indian spectrum auctions as a separate entity have been dealt a blow by a court ordering that it is only allowed to participate with its estranged local partner, Unitech.

According to India’s Economic Times newspaper, the District Court of Gurgaon backed a petition by Unitech blocking Telenor from bidding in the auctions independently of the pair’s existing JV, Unitech Wireless (Uninor).

The court has barred Telenor from "participating, negotiating, engaging in or financially being interested in the auction processes conducted by the government/government agencies for fresh allotment of licences/spectrum, other than through Unitech Wireless."

Telenor has escalated the matter to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in an attempt to overturn the Gurgaon court order. “We will continue to argue our case in court," said a spokesperson.

Uninor’s licences were among the 122 revoked by the Indian Supreme Court in February; Telenor now wants to wind down the venture in time to bid as a new entity in the forthcoming re-auction of the cancelled spectrum. Telenor owns 67.25 per cent of Uninor, while Unitech holds the remainder.

Earlier this month, Telenor had invited bidders to express interest in its Uninor arm, effectively allowing the Norwegian firm to bid again for the assets and drop Unitech as a partner – but the move was blocked by India’s Company Law Board following a successful challenge by Unitech.

Telenor is now hoping that the situation is resolved in time for it to bid in the upcoming auctions. According to the latest Department of Trade schedule, potential bidders must submit their application by October 19, while bidding starts on 12 November.