Bharti Enterprises Ltd. though an overseas subsidiary will acquire 24.5% stake in British telecommunications giant BT Group Plc. for an estimated $4 billion.
Bharti Global has reached an agreement to acquire the shares from French telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi-founded Altice UK, the Sunil Bharti Mittal-led company announced on Monday. The deal will make Bharti as the British telco's largest shareholder.
The shares will be purchased through Bharti Televentures UK Ltd. — a company established and wholly-owned by Bharti Global. The firm will acquire 9.99% stake of BT Group’s issued capital imminently with the balance 14.51% to be acquired following regulatory clearances, the company said in the filing.
The markets will see the full extent of their move when the stock appreciates in the next few days, Mittal told reporters in a briefing on Monday, adding that There is no plan to buy any more stake than what we have.
Bharti Enterprises said the investment will further help create new synergies in the telecom sector between India and UK in the areas of artificial intelligence and 5G, R&D and core engineering amongst others.
"... this scale of investment from Bharti Global is a great vote of confidence in the future of BT Group and our strategy," said BT Group Chief Executive Officer Allison Kirkby.
Germany's Deutsche Telekom-owned T Mobile Holdings Ltd. held 12.06% equity, while US asset manager BlackRock Inc had 4.73% stake in the company as of March 2024.
BT Group is the UK’s leading provider of fixed and mobile telecommunications and related secure digital products, solutions and services. It also provides telecommunications, security and network and IT infrastructure services to customers across 180 countries.
The British telco was a major shareholder in Bharti Airtel Ltd. from 1997-2001, when it owned 21%.
"Bharti and British Telecom (BT) have an enduring relationship going back more than two decades," Mittal said. The investment marks a significant milestone in Bharti Group’s history, the billionaire added.
Bharti Global has several major investments in Britain, including OneWeb, a space communications company which got merged with Eutelsat in 2023.
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