Telenor chairman Harald Norvik has been forced to resign after Norwegian trade minister Trond Giske withdrew his support over the sale of commercial channel TV2.
“The Minister of Trade and Industry, Trond Giske, representing the majority shareholder in Telenor ASA, today expressed a lack of confidence in the Chairman of Telenor, following the handling of the TV2 issue in January this year. I have therefore decided to step down as chairman in Telenor,” said Norvik in a statement.
Norvik, who has been chairman since May 2007, will continue in post until a new chairman has been elected by Telenor’s corporate assembly.
In January A-Pressen AS, jointly owned by Telenor and the LO trade union, agreed to sell its stake in TV2 to the Copenhagen-based media giant Egmont for NOK 2.1 billion (€278.16 million).
Giske had preferred the holding went to a Norwegian buyer.
The Norwegian government owns a 54% stake in Telenor.