Telenor has agreed to sell a 30 percent stake in its Norwegian fiber broadband unit Telenor Fiber AS for 10.8 billion crowns ($1bn).

The Norwegian telco has agreed to sell the stake to a consortium led by US investment firm KKR, and pension company Oslo Pensjonsforsikring.

Telenor has revealed that 30 percent of the proceeds will be used for share buybacks.

Its newly established fiber company Telenor Fiber AS will own the passive fiber assets in Norway. This includes 130,000 km of cables, connecting upwards of 560,000 homes, confirmed the company.

"This transaction highlights the value in our infrastructure and unlocks capital to support continued high fiber roll-out in Norway, and we are bringing in strong investors with a long-term horizon," said Telenor Group EVP and CFO Tone Hegland Bachke.

"Following the transaction, Telenor will propose that parts of the proceeds are used for share buybacks. We believe this transaction benefits our stakeholders while safeguarding future investments in Norway’s fiber."

Outlining further details about the transaction, Telenor says that it will retain control of its fiber unit with a 70 percent share, with the deal expected to be completed in early 2023. It values its fiber business unit at 36.1bn crowns ($3.4bn).

Following the statement, Telenor's shares rose 4.4 percent, following a sluggish period where shares were at a 10-year low.