Bharti dials up UK telecom play with $4 billion stake in BT Group

With 24.5% stake, it'll be biggest shareholder in Britain's 2nd-largest telco

Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, has decided to buy 24.5 per cent equity in BT Group — a move that will make the Indian conglomerate the biggest shareholder in the UK’s second-largest telecom company both in terms of market value and subscriber count. The shares are being purchased from billionaire Patrick Drahi’s Altice UK through a combination of cash and debt .

Though the financial details were not disclosed, Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, during a virtual press conference on Monday, said the approximate deal size could be reached according to BT’s stock price. That works out to about $4 billion, given that BT Group is valued at $16.6 billion on the London Stock Exchange. Shravin Mittal, managing director of Bharti Global, joined his father at the media interaction.  

In a stock exchange filing in London, Bharti said it had no intention of making an offer to buy the British fixed and mobile communications provider. Mittal revealed that his group won’t even seek a board position.

Bharti Enterprises and BT go back a long way: BT owned 21 per cent stake and had two board seats in Bharti Airtel during 1997-2001.

Altice, which bought the BT stake in 2021 and 2023, is part of French telecom and mass media company Altice Europe. 

In 2022, the UK government began a security review into the possible implications of Altice's ownership for the country's national security. Though the UK government finally concluded the investment did not pose any national security concerns, the issue had raised debates over foreign entities owning the UK's infrastructure assets.

Mittal is confident Bharti will not face those hurdles. “We have submitted today an application under the UK's National Security and Investment Act to review our investments. We are partners with the British government in the sensitive sector of satellites,” he said.

BT Group is the modern successor to the British Telecom brand and the government agency that originally began telephone services in Britain. EE (formerly Everything Everywhere), mobile network operator and internet service under BT Group, currently has 21 million subscribers -- second only to O2, a joint venture between Liberty Global and Telefónica, which has 23.4 million subscribers. 

Bharti Global-owned Bharti Televentures has entered into a binding agreement with Altice UK to acquire about 9.99 per cent stake of BT Group’s issued capital imminently. The balance 14.51 per cent stake in the “iconic company” will be acquired after requisite regulatory clearances, which may take up to five  months, Mittal told mediapersons after the announcement was made. “This investment aims to support the commitment of our Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards his vision in elevating and broadening the India-UK ties,” he said.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal lauded the acquisition as a milestone, thanking British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy for their support in strengthening bilateral business ties.

Deutsche Telekom, which holds a 12 per cent stake in BT Group, also welcomed the move. “We see this as a positive step for BT. We have a long and good working relationship with Bharti. So we are looking forward to working together with Bharti on the board of directors for the sake of BT shareholders and customers,” said Timotheus Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, in a statement.

Mittal has clarified that Bharti Airtel, the second-largest telecom service provider in India, is not engaged in the sale and is not seeking any technology or any help from the British telecom major. Instead, Bharti Enterprises has cited artificial intelligence (AI), 5G research & development, and core engineering as key areas where the strategic investment will further help create new synergies in the telecom sector between both countries.

British market

BT Group provides fixed, mobile and converged connectivity solutions to individual consumers, small, medium and large businesses, public sector organisations, and other communications providers. This includes broadband, mobile, TV, networking and IT services. It also has a larger portfolio of other products and services across handsets, gaming and insurance.

“We review global investment opportunities in the world of technology from digital infrastructure to software. BT is well known to us from the long association with Bharti, so we are pleased to have this opportunity to acquire a significant stake in the company. We believe that BT is poised for leadership in the telecom arena, especially home broadband services,” said Shravin Mittal.

Bharti Global has a record of long-term investments in the UK, including the resurrection of Bharti Enterprises-backed satellite communications company OneWeb. It merged with French satcom player Eutelsat in 2023.

With its significant investments in Norlake Hospitality, Bharti Global also owns marquee hotels in the UK. Its portfolio includes The Hoxton, Scottish resort Gleneagles, and other hospitality assets which are managed and operated by Ennismore.