Bharti Enterprises to Buy 24.5 Per Cent Stake in UK's BT Group. (Photo: X)
New Delhi: Telecom giant Sunil Bharti Mittal’s conglomerate will buy a 24.5 per cent stake in Britain's largest broadband and mobile company, BT Group, worth about $4 billion. The company hopes that this investment will further help create new synergies in the telecom sector between both countries in the areas of artificial intelligence or AI and 5G R&D and core engineering amongst others, offering great potential to collaborate on industry best practices and emerging technologies.
The telecom conglomerate, however, did not disclose financial details but market watchers say that at BT's valuation of roughly $15 billion dollars, the deal could be in the ballpark of $4 billion range. “Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, a leading Indian business group with world-class companies in telecoms, digital infrastructure and space communications, has reached an agreement to acquire an interest in 24.5 per cent of the issued share capital of BT Group plc from Altice UK,” Bharti said in a statement.
“The shares will be purchased through Bharti Televentures UK Ltd – a company established and wholly owned by Bharti Global. Bharti Televentures UK Ltd has entered into a binding agreement with Altice UK to acquire 9.99 per cent stake of BT Group's issued capital imminently with the balance 14.51 per cent of BT's share capital to be acquired following receipt of applicable regulatory clearances," the company said in a statement.
Commenting on the investment in BT, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman of Bharti Enterprises, said, “Bharti and British Telecom (BT) have an enduring relationship going back more than two decades wherein BT owned 21 per cent stake along with 2 board seats in Bharti Airtel Limited from 1997-2001. Today marks a significant milestone in Bharti Group’s history as we invest in BT - an iconic British Company."
Bharti, India's second largest telecom operator with about 400 million subscribers, has had a relationship with BT previously as well. BT owned a 21 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel from 1997 to 2001. The company is neither keen on making an offer to acquire the whole of BT, nor is it seeking a board position. Altice, an investment conglomerate controlled by billionaire Drahi, is exiting BT as it struggles with high debt. It first took a stake in BT in 2021, acquiring a 12 per cent holding which it later increased to 24.5 per cent.
The company also said that Bharti's investment in BT, however, aims to support the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards his vision in elevating and broadening the India-UK ties. “During the recently concluded visit of UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy to India, the UK-India Technology Security Initiative was announced to expand collaboration in critical and emerging technologies across priority sectors including telecom,” it said.
( Source : Deccan Chronicle )
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