UK Might Block Airtel’s Mittal from Increasing Stake in British Telecom

The United Kingdom (UK) government may block Sunil Bharti Mittal from increasing his stake in British Telecom (BT). A few days back, reports crept up saying Mittal is looking to eye additional stake in BT. The current holding of the Bharti Group in BT is 24.5%. The company is looking to expand it to just under 30%. However, this may not be approved by the UK government.

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Key Highlights

  • The United Kingdom government may block Sunil Bharti Mittal and the Bharti Enterprises from increasing their stake in BT Group beyond 25%.
  • Bharti Group currently holds a 24.5% stake in BT and was reportedly looking to raise it to just under 30%.
  • BT’s broadband arm, Openreach, connects fibre broadband to more than 22 million homes in Britain, making it strategically important for national security.
  • Any move by Bharti Group to cross the 25% ownership threshold could trigger a formal review under the UK’s National Security and Investment Act.
  • Bharti Group already has a strong presence in the UK market through investments such as Eutelsat OneWeb.

BT’s broadband arm Openreach has fibre connected with over 22 million homes in Britian. This makes BT a crucial company for the UK government with respect to national security.

According to a Financial Times report, the UK government doesn’t want Bharti group to get control of the ‘critical national infrastructure’ by raising stake in BT. It is nothing to do with the Bharti Group or India alone, but in general the government wants to protect the interests of its nation. Any attempt that the Bharti Group will make to get more than 25% ownership in the British telco would trigger a formal review under the National Security and Investment Act, a quasi-judicial process.

Sunil Mittal has had a long presence in the British market with the Bharti Group, and this with his investment on the OneWeb, which is now Eutelsat OneWeb. The Bharti Group wants to restructure its holdings in subsidiaries to get more control of the assets it owns. No formal statements have been provided by the Bharti Group, its officials or the UK government yet on this matter.