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Billionaire telecom tycoon Patrick Drahi’s Altice UK Sarl on Tuesday said it has bought more shares in BT Group PLC, taking its stake to about 24.5%. Altice said that it has bought a further 650.0 million shares in the telecommunications company, increasing its ownership to 2.44 billion shares. This represents about a 24.5% stake in BT. Altice didn’t say how much it paid for the shares. BT was up 1.6% at 150.25 pence early Tuesday in London. That makes 650.0 million shares worth £976.6 million and Altice’s entire stake worth £3.66 billion. ‘Altice UK has restated its position to the board of BT that it does not intend to make an Offer for BT,’ Altice added. Over the past two years, Altice’s relationship with BT has faced scrutiny. Back in December 2021, Patrick Drahi’s Altice lifted its stake in BT to 18%. At the time, Altice confirmed it had no plans to mount a takeover offer and would be bound by that statement under UK takeover rules. In May 2022, BT said it had received notification from the UK secretary of state for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy saying that the government was exercising its power under the National Security & Investment Act 2021 to investigate the increase in the French company’s stake. The act was introduced in January last year, and it allows government ministers to more closely scrutinise approaches by overseas interests. It also means the UK government will be able to impose certain conditions on a takeover or block it. BT, a former state-owned company, is particularly sensitive, as its Openreach arm maintains most of the UK’s broadband network. In August, the UK government said it would take‘no further action’ over the increase of Altice’s shareholding in BT. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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