New Delhi, Aug 12
Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, on Monday said it has reached an agreement to acquire a 24.5 per cent stake in the UK telecommunications giant BT Group for an estimated $4 billion.
The shares will be purchased through Bharti Televentures UK - a company established and wholly-owned by Bharti Global. The company will acquire shares from French telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi-founded Altice UK, making Bharti as the British telco's largest shareholder, it said in a statement.
"Bharti and British Telecom (BT) have an enduring relationship going back more than two decades wherein BT owned 21 per cent stake along with two board seats in Bharti Airtel Limited from 1997-2001," said Sunil Bharti Mittal, Chairman of Bharti Enterprises.
"Today marks a significant milestone in Bharti Group's history as we invest in BT - an iconic British Company. This investment in BT aims to support the commitment of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards his vision in elevating and broadening the India-UK ties," Mittal added.
Bharti Enterprises said the investment will further help create new synergies in the telecom sector between India and UK in the areas of artificial intelligence and 5G, research and development and core engineering, among others.
"We believe that BT is poised for leadership in the telecom arena, especially home broadband services," said Shravin Bharti Mittal, Managing Director of Bharti Global.
Bharti Global has several major investments in Britain, including OneWeb, a space communications company which got merged with Eutelsat in 2023.
"This scale of investment from Bharti Global is a great vote of confidence in the future of BT Group and our strategy," said BT Group CEO, Allison Kirkby.
Mittal added that Bharti's own record of owning and operating telecom and broadband networks around the world is underpinned by placing customers, digital innovation and operational efficiency at the heart of its business.