Telenor Group, a Norwegian majority state-owned telecommunications firm, has agreed to sell a 24.95% stake in True Corporation— a Thai communications conglomerate— to Arise Digital Technology Company for $3.9bn.
Arise Digital Technology is a subsidiary of Arise Ventures Group, fully owned and controlled by Khun Suphachai Chearavanont, who is also chairman of True Corporation and part of one of the wealthiest families in Asia.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Discover B2B Marketing That Performs
Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.
The agreement also includes a put and call option for the remaining 5.35% shareholding, which can be exercised two years after the initial sale at either the same price per share or the prevailing market price, whichever is higher.
Telenor expects to receive proceeds of approximately Nkr32.3bn ($3.23bn) from the first transaction and an additional Nkr6.9bn ($692m) if the remaining shares are sold after two years.
Khun Suphachai Chearavanont said: “We are committed to sustaining our positive momentum, delivering profitable growth and value creation in True in the years ahead.”
The divestment forms part of Telenor’s ongoing strategy to simplify its business structure and focus on its core markets, as outlined during its Capital Markets Day presentations.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataIt is anticipated to support Telenor’s target of increasing return on capital employed and aligns with its plan to become more focused on Nordic operations over time.
The company will provide further information about how it plans to use the proceeds from this sale when it presents its fourth quarter results for 2025 on 6 February 2026.
Telenor CEO Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer said: “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with Arise about the sale of our stake in True and I would also like to extend a special thanks to True’s employees and customers.”
In 2023, True merged with DTAC, creating Thailand’s main telecom technology firm. Telenor’s involvement in Thailand spans over two decades, beginning with investments in TAC in the year 2000, and later through DTAC.
The initial transaction price represents a 36% increase compared to True Corporation’s closing share price on the first day of trading after the merger, and a 4% premium over the three-month volume weighted average price.
Accounting records indicate that Telenor will register an estimated gain of Nkr14.7bn ($1.5bn) at the close of this deal, with approximately Nkr1.6bn ($162m) arising from historical currency translation differences without impacting current equity levels.
The finalisation of this transaction remains subject to standard closing conditions and is expected within several months.
Telenor recently completed the sale of Telenor Pakistan to Pakistan Telecommunication Company, part of the Emirati technology group e&, finalised on 31 December 2025.
When announced in December 2023, this deal valued Telenor Pakistan at Nkr5.3bn ($536.3m); at closing, this was confirmed at Nkr5.4bn ($546.4m) based on September currency rates, pending final adjustments.
Since announcing the deal, Telenor also received Nkr900m ($89m) in cash flow from its Pakistan operations.
