Telenor sells its stake in Thailand's True Corporation for $3.9 billion

Norway's Telenor said on Thursday it had agreed to sell its 30.3 per cent stake in Thailand's True Corporation for 39 billion Norwegian crowns ($3.92 billion), the company's second divestment from Asian markets in recent months.

Telenor Group said it signed an agreement with Arise Digital Technology Company, owned by Khun Suphachai Chearavanont, to sell 24.95 per cent in

True and agreed to a sale of its remaining 5.35 per cent stake two years after the closing of the initial sale. True is one of Thailand's biggest telecom operators with around 60 million customers. Telenor will book an accounting gain of 14.7 billion Norwegian crowns at the current exchange rate at the closing of the initial stake sale and said it aims to provide further information next month on the use of the proceeds.

Telenor has been a major investor in Asian telecoms since the 1990s, building operations in Bangladesh, Thailand, Malaysia and Pakistan, but has recently said it is open to structural deals as the industry matures.

"With the completion of the sale of Telenor Pakistan in December, and the agreement to sell our shares in True we have taken big steps in delivering on that strategy," Telenor CEO Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer said in a statement.

The divestment is expected to boost Telenor's return on capital employed and also underpins the company's goal of focusing more of its business in the Nordic region, it said.

"The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close within a few months," Telenor said in its statement.