New Delhi, Dec 22 :     Crompton Greaves today sold its 40.5 per cent stake in Skycell, the cellular operator in Chennai, for Rs 100 crore to Bharti Enterprises. The sale not only makes Bharti the single largest shareholder in Skycell but also the largest private sector telecom company in the country enveloping Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh through subsidiaries and group companies. Crompton Greaves was able to sell its stake following the expiry of the five-year lock in period of the original promoters last month. Skycell was incorporated on March 3, 1992; it launched its commercial operations in October 1995. Apart from strengthening its cellular operations, Bharti is also gearing up to provide services in the domestic long-distance market. The company is likely to bid for licences in the long-distance market by forming a consortium with some major multinationals. One possible partner is British Telecom which is Bharti?s collaborator in several domestic ventures, including the Delhi cellular circle. Bharti has also invited Enron Communications to be a member of this consortium and have started negotiations in this regard. This foray into long-distance will involve investments of around Rs 2,500 crore over a five-year period assuming a total roll-out of 40,000 kilometre of cables. Bharti Televentures had also recently acquired the stakes of JT Mobile in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, where it has pledged to invest Rs 250 crore. The company plans to raise around $ 100 million by issuing fresh equity in the middle of next year.