Bharti Global Set to Buy 24.5% Stake in BT Group from Altice UK

Bharti Global, the global investment wing of Bharti Enterprises, is set to buy around 24.5 per cent of BT Group's shares from Altice UK, as announced in a release on Monday.

The acquisition will be carried out through Bharti Televentures UK, a company fully owned by Bharti Global.

“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 work together with Bharti in the Board of Directors for the sake of BT shareholders and customers," Timotheus Höttges, CEO, Deutche Telecom, said.

Deutche Telecom holds 12 per cent stake in BT.

"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.

Although the release did not divulge the size of the deal, market watchers say at BT's valuation of roughly USD 15 billion dollars, the deal could be in the ballpark of USD 4 billion.

As per the release, Bharti Televentures UK has entered into a binding agreement with Altice UK to acquire about 9.99 per cent stake of BT Group's issued capital imminently with the rest about 14.51 per cent of BT's share capital to be acquired post regulatory clearances.

Bharti hopes the investment will further help create new synergies in the telecom sector between India and UK in the areas of AI and 5G R&D and core engineering among others, "offering great potential to collaborate on industry best practices and emerging technologies".

It is pertinent to mention that Bharti and BT have a relationship going back more than two decades.

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 two 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".

(With inputs from PTI)