Drahi to build BT stake?
July 25, 2023
Patrick Drahi’s Altice is considering an increase to his stake in BT, according to MSN. Already the biggest holder, Altice has built a 24.5 per cent stake in three tranches, most recently in May this year.
Reporting says he is likely to target 29.9 per cent, above this he will be obliged to trigger a bid for the whole company. Drahi has maintained he has no intention of acquiring the company.
If a bid seemed imminent it would automatically result in a UK government investigation under the terms of the National Security and Investment Act. It would probe whether foreign ownership of critical infrastructure is a potential threat to British national security.
Controversy is bound to surround any bid, as Altice’s co-founder Armando Periera being detained and questioned about alleged corruption at its Portuguese operations, according to Reuters.
Alexandre Fonseca is Chair of the Portuguese and US subsidiaries. Ana Figueiredo, CEO of the Portuguese subsidiary, will assume the duties as chair.
BT’s share price has never fully recovered from an accounting scandal, which was made public in 2016, at the Italian subsidiary was accused of inflating sales and concealing losses. BT Group CEO Philip Jansen has said he will exit the company in the coming year having taken up the post in 2019 and failed to improve BT’s share price.
Deutsche Telekom (DT) is BT’s second largest shareholder with 12.5 per cent as a result of BT acquiring EE in 2015. EE was a merger of Orange’s UK opco and DT’s T-Mobile UK. In an interview with the Financial Times earlier this year, DT Group’s CEO, Tim Höttges, said he regretted DT taking the stake in BT. BT’s share price then was £4.52, now it’s £1.259.