Bharti Enterprises to Acquire 24.5% Stake in UK’s BT Group

Bharti Enterprises, led by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, announced on Monday that it will buy a 24.5% stake in British Telecom Group (BT), the UK’s largest mobile and broadband provider. The stake will be purchased through Bharti Televentures UK Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises’ international investment arm, Bharti Global.

The stake is being bought from Altice UK, which currently holds 24.5% of BT. Bharti Televentures will initially acquire 9.99% of BT, with the remaining 14.51% to be bought after receiving regulatory approval.

The financial details of the deal were not disclosed, but Altice’s full stake in BT was valued at around £3.2 billion based on recent stock prices. Altice is owned by Patrick Drahi, an Israeli-French telecom billionaire who also owns Sotheby’s auction house.

Sunil Bharti Mittal highlighted the long-standing relationship between Bharti and BT, dating back to when BT owned a 21% stake in Bharti Airtel from 1997 to 2001. He described this investment as a significant milestone for Bharti Group and as support for stronger India-UK ties, particularly in areas like AI, 5G, and engineering.

The deal comes as India and the UK are close to concluding negotiations on a free-trade agreement (FTA), with both countries also discussing a bilateral investment treaty. The UK-India Technology Security Initiative, announced during a recent visit by UK foreign secretary David Lammy, is expected to further enhance collaboration in critical technology sectors, including telecom.

BT Group’s CEO, Allison Kirkby, welcomed Bharti Global’s investment, seeing it as a strong vote of confidence in BT’s future and strategy. She expressed optimism about the ongoing relationship between BT and Bharti, praising Bharti’s successful track record in the telecom sector.