JOIN USNorwegian Telecom major Telenor has said that lenders of its Indian arm, Uninor, have issued default notices to the firm for non-payment of loans.
According to latest quarterly result statement issued by Telenor, as of July 23, Telenor ASA has received guarantee claims of total NOK 3.6 billion (Rs 3,382 crore) and default notice from most of the lenders.
“One of the lenders has turned down a request for an extension of borrowings given to Uninor, and has demanded payment under the Telenor ASA guarantees,” Telenor said without mentioning the name of the lender.
“This event has triggered cross-default under the loan agreements. As of 23 July Telenor ASA has received guarantee claims of total NOK 3.6 billion and default notice from most of the lenders. The remaining banks are expected to follow shortly,” it added.
An email sent to Uninor seeking comments yielded no reply. Telenor said that Uninor had NOK 9.6 billion (Rs 9,019 crore) in current interest-bearing borrowings, all with financial guarantees from Telenor ASA as of June 30, 2012.
Uninor’s loan agreements contain typical bank loan provisions including material adverse effect clauses.
As of June 30, 2012, Uninor had NOK 1.1 billion in bank guarantees from the State Bank of India with counter guarantee from Telenor ASA.