OSLO (Reuters) -Norway’s Telenor said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its Pakistan unit to state group Pakistan Telecommunications in a transaction valuing the operation at 5.3 billion Norwegian crowns ($490 million).
Telenor Pakistan, launched 18 years ago, and has 45 million customers, the company said in a statement.
The Norwegian group has been restructuring its Asian businesses and had said it hoped to decide on a solution for the Pakistan business by year-end.
Pakistan Telecommunications’ share price was up 8.3% at 0645 GMT. Telenor begins trade at 0800 GMT.
In the first nine months, Telenor Pakistan contributed 2.6 billion Norwegian crowns ($240 million) in service revenue and 1.4 billion crowns in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) to the group.
The deal is subject to regulatory approvals, and the aim is to close the transaction during 2024. The sale was not estimated to have a significant impact on financials for 2023, Telenor said.
Telenor’s remaining Asian portfolio consists of stakes in Grameenphone in Bangladesh, CelcomDigi in Malaysia and True Corp in Thailand with close to 160 million customers combined.
“Telenor Asia will remain an active owner for the three market-leading businesses which make up our Asian portfolio,” said the head of the company’s operation in the region, Petter-Boerre Furberg.
($1 = 10.7403 Norwegian crowns)
(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Anna Ringstrom and William Mallard)
