The Norway’s Telecom company Telenor has decided to take the exit from the Indian markets. The telecom giant in India Bharti Airtel will acquire the company in India. The reason for the exit of the company is due to the fact of growing pressure and competitive edge because of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Jio.
In India, Telenor’s customer base is around 44 million subscribers and it only operates in seven circle-Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, UP (East), UP (West) and Assam.
Airtel said it has entered into a “definitive agreement” to acquire the Norway’s Telenor operations, and a final go-ahead will require for regulatory approvals. The proposed acquisition will include transfer of all of Telenor India’s assets and customers, further augmenting Airtel’s overall customer base and network. Airtel will further make addition of 43.4 MHz spectrum in the 1800 MHz band in the seven circles of the previous network company.
According to the Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal,” “The customers of Telenor in India will now be able to enjoy India’s widest and fastest voice & data network, and a range of Airtel’s world-class products and services.” Further adding to it, he said, it will strengthen the Airtel position in the seven circles.
The process of the agreement between the two companies started when Vodafone and Idea Cellular are also engaged in merger discussions to form the country’s biggest mobile company.
The CEO of the Telenor Group, Sigve Brekke says, “the decision to exit India has not been taken lightly” This has been taken after thorough discussion and with the view of the significant investment of Telenor in India will not give an acceptable level of return. The company is pleased with the decision of handing over the business to Bharti Airtel.
