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Bharti Enterprises, an India-based conglomerate headed by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, has agreed to buy a 24.5 per cent stake in BT Group from Patrick Drahi’s Altice.
In a statement on Monday, Bharti said it would buy 10 per cent of BT’s shares from Altice immediately, with the remainder coming on “receipt of acceptable regulatory clearances”.
Bharti said it supported BT’s executive team and strategy, and did not intend to make an offer for the entire company. It did not say how much it will pay for the stake. At Friday’s closing price, Altice’s 24.5 per cent stake was worth about £3.2bn.
Altice, an investment conglomerate controlled by billionaire Patrick Drahi, first took a stake in BT in 2021, acquiring a 12 per cent holding which it later increased. BT’s shares have fallen by about a third since Altice first became a shareholder.
Altice has recently been selling assets to pay down debt. In March, it sold a news channel and a radio station to shipping magnate Rodolphe Saadé. Last week Altice partnered with Abu Dhabi-based sovereign wealth fund ADQ to give a $1bn capital injection to auction house Sotheby’s.
“This investment demonstrates the confidence we have in BT and in the UK,” said Mittal, chair of Bharti Enterprises. “BT has a strong portfolio of market leading brands, high-quality assets and an experienced management team with a compelling strategy.”
BT chief executive Allison Kirkby said: “We welcome investors who recognise the long-term value of our business, and this scale of investment from Bharti Global is a great vote of confidence in the future of BT Group and our strategy.”
Kirkby, who took over in February, said at the time that the company would cut another £3bn of costs and increase its dividend after BT had hit its original target for savings ahead of schedule.
Bharti Enterprises will buy its stake through Bharti Global, its international investment arm. The conglomerate also owns Bharti Airtel, a telecoms group with operations in India and Africa.
Bharti Airtel emerged as India’s second-largest telecom company following a brutal price war instigated by rival billionaire Mukesh Ambani in 2016, which cut down most of the country’s operators.
Bharti Airtel’s Mumbai-listed shares were up 0.5 per cent on Monday and have advanced 43 per cent so far this year, beating the 10 per cent rise of India’s benchmark BSE Sensex Index.
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