Government approves sale of £3.2bn stake in BT to Bharti Global

Bharti acquires BT stake from indebted Altice Group – 27 years after BT’s investment helped propel Bharti into mobile telecoms

The government has approved the proposed purchase of a 24.5% stake in BT by Indian conglomerate Bharti Global, the investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, in a deal valued at £3.2 billion ($4.1 billion).

The deal was approved on the basis of BT establishing a National Security Committee within the company to oversee the sensitive strategic and national security work that BT does for the British state.

Bharti is acquiring the stake from Altice Group, the indebted conglomerate headed by Franco-Israeli tycoon Patrick Drahi, which is in the process of selling off assets to reduce debts estimated at $55 billion (£45.42 billion). The deal was struck in August.

In a statement, Bharti’s founder and chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal said: “Bharti has long recognised the enormous potential of the business. BT’s renewed focus on optimisation, strengthening networks and driving consumer growth makes it well placed to consolidate its position as a leading global telecoms company that delivers long-term value for investors.”

He believes that the tie-up between the two companies will help develop cooperation between the UK and India in the areas of AI, 5G research and engineering.

BT Group CEO Allison Kirkby had welcomed the investment when it was first announced as a “great vote of confidence” in the company, adding that “BT has enjoyed a long association with Bharti Enterprises”.

Indeed, back in 1997 BT bought a 21% stake in Bharti Cellular, two years after Bharti had entered the Indian mobile communications business.

Bharti was founded in 1976 by Sunil Bharti Mittal and has operations across telecoms, television, real estate and insurance.

Companies under the Bharti umbrella include Bharti Airtel, which spans mobile broadband and gigabit fibre internet, digital payments, and data centre services; telecoms tower provider Indus Towers; mobile communications in 14 countries across West Africa; and, Airtel mobile services in Jersey and Guernsey. It is also the largest investor in Eutelsat following its merger with OneWeb.