Telenor said today that it and British Telecommunications have agreed a two month extension on an option for Telenor to transfer a stake in mobile operator Esat Digifone to BT. The stake option is now transferred from December 7 this year to February 7 of 2001. BT owns 50.5% of Esat Digifone, while Telenor has the remaining 49.5%.
Under a deal between BT and Telenor last year, the Norwegian telecoms firm has the right to exchange its 49.5% stake in Digifone for a 33% stake in the Esat Telecom Group, the fixed line operator which is fully owned by BT.
Analysts said that Telenor probably needs the cash from BT to help repay debts. The British phone company is also trying to cut debts by $10 billion.
