Bharti Global to acquire 24% stake in British telco major BT

Vijay C Roy

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 12

Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises (Bharti), a diverse business group having presence in telecom, digital infrastructure and space communications, is set to acquire 24.5 per cent stake in British telecommunications major BT Group, a move which will give the Indian telecom giant a foothold in the British telecom sector.

Commenting on the investment in BT, Sunil Bharti Mittal, chairman, Bharti Enterprises, said, “Bharti and 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.”

Bharti hopes that this investment will further help create new synergies in the telecom sector between both countries 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.

The shares will be purchased through Bharti Televentures UK Ltd, a company established and wholly owned by Bharti Global. Bharti Televentures UK Ltd has entered into a binding agreement with Altice UK to acquire 9.99 per cent stake of BT Group’s issued capital imminently with the balance 14.51 per cent of BT’s share capital to be acquired following receipt of applicable regulatory clearances.

Shravin Bharti Mittal, managing director of Bharti Global and founder of Unbound, the long-term global tech investment fund, said, “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.”