Many Indian billionaires have successfully established their business empires not just in the country, but also outside India. One such person is telecom czar Sunil Bharti Mittal, who runs India's second-largest telecom operator, Bharti Airtel, with about 400 million subscribers. The 66-year-old has a real-time net worth of Rs 93200 crore, as per Forbes.
Now, his Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, will buy a 24.5 per cent stake in Britain's largest broadband and mobile company, BT Group. He will spend around USD 4 billion or Rs 33580 crore for the deal.
Bharti Global will buy 9.99 per cent stake in BT Group from Patrick Drahi's Altice immediately and purchase the remainder after it has secured the necessary regulatory approvals, the firm said in a statement. It, however, did not disclose financial details but market watchers say that at BT's valuation of roughly USD 15 billion dollars, the deal could be in the ballpark of USD 4 billion range.
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Bharti has had a relationship with BT previously as well. BT owned a 21 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel from 1997 to 2001. The company is neither keen on making an offer to acquire the whole of BT, nor is it seeking a board position. Altice, an investment conglomerate controlled by billionaire Drahi, is exiting BT as it struggles with high debt. It first took a stake in BT in 2021, acquiring a 12 per cent holding which it later increased to 24.5 per cent.
(With inputs from PTI)
