The wheel has come full circle, said Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal hours after Bharti Global took a 24.5 per cent stake in Britain’s BT Group from Altice UK.
In 1997, British Telecom had acquired a 21 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel. BT Group is the UK’s leading fixed and mobile communications provider.
“This acquisition is testimony to the growing strength of India as we march towards Viksit Bharat under the inspirational leadership of PM Modi ji,” Goyal wrote on X.
“We thank UK Prime Minister @Keir_Starmer and Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy for their continued support in strengthening business ties between the two countries.”
The minister also congratulated Sunil Bharti Mittal, Rajan Bharti Mittal, and Rakesh Bharti Mittal of Bharti Enterprises on this significant milestone.
Sunil Bharti Mittal, at a press conference soon after the announcement was made, said this 24.5 per cent stake made it the single largest shareholder in this iconic company.
“And as you know, this is a very large block. If you go back in time, Singtel had bought that kind of stock in our company. BT had bought 21 per cent in 97. So these are very strategic blocks which are seen as blocks with great degree of shareholder involvement. and that’s what we want to keep at this point in time,” Mittal told reporters at the press conference.
Without disclosing the size of the buyout, Mittal says it’s a very attractive buy as UK and European telecom companies are trading at low multiples so it will be a very good investment in the long run. The size of the company is 21 billion pounds with sales revenue at about USD 25 billion.
Mittal said the investment will have no direct impact on the company’s telecom operations in India but best practices sharing can always take place.
Indian businesses were under pressure but with tariff hikes, government support and 5G launches it has turned around remarkably well. Bharti is now ready to make investments after a long gap after its Africa acquisition.
Mittal said although there is no global expansion plans on cards, but it can’t be ruled out either.
