Billionaire Patrick Drahi Boosts Stake in British Telecom to 18%

The founder-CEO of Altice (the parent company of SFR) is strengthening his stake, after his surprise 12.1% participation last June that made him the largest shareholder of the British group, British Telecom (BT). Patrick Drahi now holds 18% of BT, reports Capital.fr. He bought an additional 585 million shares for an investment of around £1 billion, or about €1.1 billion.

This increase in capital gives the parent company of SFR the possibility to launch a takeover bid (OPA) but the multinational group does not intend to take this step, for at least six months. "Altice UK confirms that it has no intention of making an offer on BT," the group said in a statement.

It plans to support the company’s strategy, particularly with regard to the deployment of fiber in the United Kingdom. "In recent months, we have engaged constructively with the board of directors and the management of BT" of which "we continue to fully support the strategy, particularly in its central role in the expansion of the high-speed fiber network" in the country, Patrick Drahi assured.