From correspondents in Delhi, India, 03:30 PM IST

Norwegian telecom giant Telenor has picked up a controlling 60 percent stake in Unitech Wireless, the telecom arm of real estate major Unitech Ltd.

In a regulatory statement Wednesday, Unitech said Telenor will invest about Rs.61.2 billion (Rs.6,120 crore) in Unitech Wireless, thereby resulting in an enterprise value - the market worth of a company - of Rs.116.20 billion (Rs.11,620 crore).

Unitech Wireless has a pan-India licence for 22 telecom circles and plans to launch its services next year.

Telenor has operations in Pakistan and Bangladesh and is the second largest non-Asian operator in Asia after Vodafone.

The Unitech Group is the country's leading real estate developer with operations across India.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)