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Indian billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal has indicated that he is considering increasing his holding in BT after taking a 24.5 per cent stake in the UK telecoms company last year, according to people familiar with the matter.
Mittal, who bought the BT stake from Patrick Drahi’s Altice in August last year, has privately suggested that he could expand his position in the company — held via his Bharti Enterprises conglomerate — as it continues to restructure and cut costs under chief executive Allison Kirkby.
The billionaire is in the process of converting his 24.5 per cent stake, which was partly taken via derivatives contracts, into equity, said people familiar with the situation. Mittal took an initial 10 per cent holding last year, which is being increased to 24.5 per cent after securing national security approvals in December.
Mittal, who in Bharti Airtel created one of the world’s biggest network providers and owns stakes in a number of other telecoms and technology groups around the world, has signalled clearly to BT that he sees himself as a long-term investor.
James Ratzer, analyst at New Street Research, estimates that Mittal has converted about 16 per cent of his stake in total into equity. Mittal would not look to increase his BT holding until that process was finished, said people familiar with the matter.
“There is very compelling logic to [Mittal] increasing his stake at the current valuation as BT continues its fibre rollout, which continues to add value for the company,” Ratzer said.
A spokesperson for Bharti said the company “currently has no plans to buy any further stake above the 24.5 per cent already disclosed”. BT declined to comment.
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Bharti said in August last year that it did not intend to make an offer for the whole of BT. Under UK takeover laws, the company was barred from bidding for BT for six months after that statement, a prohibition that expired last month.
Should the Indian billionaire’s stake increase to 30 per cent or more, he would be required to make an offer for the whole of BT under UK rules. Were he to increase his stake to 25 per cent or more, the investor would have to seek renewed national security clearance.
Mittal has taken a hands-on approach to his investment so far, discussing the business and its strategy with BT’s head and senior team in a series of meetings. The billionaire has referenced his feeling of a shared history with the UK telecoms operator, which was a minority shareholder in Bharti Airtel in the late 1990s, said the people.
One person familiar with the matter said that Mittal was “open” about his desire to be closely involved with the company, in a shift from the approach adopted by Drahi.
Kirkby in May last year announced a plan to make additional cost savings of £3bn by the end of BT’s 2029 financial year. The company has also said it will cut jobs from 130,000 in 2023 to between 75,000 and 90,000 by 2030. Those plans are on track, according to people close to the company.
Since Kirkby started as chief executive in February last year, BT’s share price has risen more than 50 per cent, in a vote of confidence from investors.
