UK (Commonwealth) _ Approximately 24.5% of BT Group plc will be acquired by Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, from Altice UK. Through a press statement, the agreement to purchase the stock from Altice was revealed on Monday. Bharti Global founded and fully owns Bharti Televentures UK, the firm through which the shares would be acquired.
In order to purchase a 9.99 percent interest in the issued capital of the BT Group as soon as possible, Bharti Televentures UK Ltd has signed a legally binding agreement with Altice UK. The remaining 14.51% of BT’s share capital will be purchased when the necessary regulatory permissions are obtained, the company further stated in the release. Over the course of more than 20 years, Bharti and BT have maintained a strong partnership. The release also claimed that today is a key milestone in Bharti’s history as it gets a stake in the renowned British company, BT, hence boosting the bilateral tie between India and the United Kingdom. In 1997, BT purchased a twenty-one percent ownership in Bharti Airtel.
According to Bharti, the company anticipates that this investment would further contribute to the creation of new synergies in the telecom sector between the two nations in the areas of core engineering, AI and 5G R&D, among other areas, presenting considerable opportunity for collaboration on emerging technologies and industry best practices.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, commented on the BT investment, saying, “Bharti and British Telecom (BT) have an enduring partnership stretching back more than two decades. From 1997 to 2001, BT controlled two board seats and a twenty-one percent share in Bharti Airtel Limited. Today is a big day in the history of Bharti Group since we’re investing in BT, a renowned British company.”
According to Mittal, Bharti’s track record of owning and running telecom and internet networks throughout the globe is supported by its commitment to putting consumers, digital innovation, and operational efficiency at the core of its operations.
CEO of Deutche Telecom, which owns 12% of BT, Timotheus Höttges, stated, “We see this as a positive step for BT.” With Bharti, we have a long-standing and positive working relationship. For the sake of BT’s customers and shareholders, we are eager to collaborate with Bharti on the board of directors.
“I want Indian businesses to expand internationally. They should have their arms elsewhere too, according to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, via X.The wheel has completely turned since 1997 when Bharti Enterprises signed a legally binding deal to purchase a 24.5% strategic share in the UK’s BT Group.
Within the company’s telecom portfolio is Bharti Airtel Ltd., one of the top three mobile operators worldwide, servicing over 550 million subscribers in 17 South Asian and African countries over networks that touch about two billion people. 400 million Indians, 150 million Africans, and an additional 60 million consumers in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka made up Bharti Airtel’s client base last year.
After years of acquisitions, Drahi’s telecom company Altice has been attempting to reduce debt during the last 12 months by selling off businesses. The aftermath from a corruption probe involving important group members has hindered sales. According to Altice, it is the victim of the purported transgressions.
This month, Altice and US advertising firm Outbrain Inc. reached an agreement to sell Teads, a platform for video advertising, for around $1 billion. The apartment at the core of the corruption investigation involving Altice’s co-founder and Drahi’s right-hand man, Armando Pereira, is also for sale. Pereira was arrested in 2023.
One of the companies held by Drahi’s investment entity Next Alt Sarl is Altice UK. The others are Altice USA, Altice France, which operates the French carrier SFR, and Altice International, which comprises the company’s subsidiaries in Portugal, the Dominican Republic, and Israel. Drahi also owns Sotheby’s, an auction house.
A small group of billionaires who dominate important sectors have grown in number with India’s growth in recent decades. Sunil Bharti Mittal’s ascent could seem nearly inevitable: The Hindi term for India, Bharat, is the source of the word Bharti.
For Bharti Enterprises, the conglomerate he founded in 1976 as a small manufacturer, Mittal used his middle name. However, given the surge in data consumption in India, he made his fortune in the telecommunications industry.
After agreeing to buy out Patrick Drahi, the billionaire who was born in Morocco and loves the arts, whose debt-ridden Altice empire is facing strain, Bharti will take the lead as the largest stakeholder in BT Group. Although Bharti maintained that it was not pursuing a full takeover, Mittal will have substantial control over one of the most major businesses in the UK thanks to his 24.5% share.
