Airtel parent acquires 24.5% stake in UK's largest telecom provider
Airtel's parent company Bharti Enterprises is acquiring a significant 24.5% stake in British Telecom Group Plc (BT Group). The acquisition will be facilitated through Bharti Televentures UK Ltd, a fully-owned subsidiary of Bharti Global (Bharti Enterprises's international investment arm). This strategic move is set to make Bharti Global the largest shareholder in BT Group, the UK's largest mobile and broadband services provider.
Acquisition details and financial implications
The equity for this acquisition is being purchased from Altice UK, which currently owns a 24.5% stake in BT. Although the exact value of the deal remains undisclosed, Financial Times estimates suggest that based on the last closing price on the London Stock Exchange, Altice's stake in BT was approximately £3.2 billion ($4 billion).
Bharti Enterprises's phased acquisition plan
Bharti Televentures has a phased approach for this acquisition, initially buying 9.99% of BT from Altice. The remaining 14.51% will be acquired after securing regulatory clearances. Sunil Mittal highlighted the long-standing relationship between Bharti and BT, dating back over two decades when BT owned a 21% stake along with two board seats in Bharti Airtel Limited from 1997-2001.
Investment aims to strengthen India-UK ties
Mittal stated that this investment is in line with the Indian Prime Minister's vision of enhancing and expanding India-UK relations. The two nations are currently in talks over a free-trade agreement (FTA) and a bilateral investment treaty. Bharti aims to foster new synergies between India and the UK in sectors like artificial intelligence (AI), research and development on 5G, as well as core engineering.
