Bharti Airtel and BT have had a synergistic relationship for over two decades. Between 1997 and 2001, he held a 21% stake in Bharti Airtel along with two board seats. Over the past two decades, the Sunil Mittal-led Indian telecom has reached a market capitalization of Rs 8.26 lakh crore.
Bharti Enterprises this week bought a 24.51% stake in BT for $4 billion, making it the largest outbound deal by an Indian company. BT is Britain's largest broadband and mobile company with a market cap of £13.8 bn (about Rs 1.48 lakh crore).
The acquisition involves buying equity from Altice UK, owned by Israeli-French telecoms billionaire Patrick Drahi, who also owns auction house Sotheby's. Bharti TeleVentures UK has already acquired a 9.99% stake in BT through open market trading and plans to acquire the remaining 14.51% after obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. Led by Barclays Bank and Linklaters as lead advisors, the complex deal went smoothly. Upon completion, Bharti Enterprises will emerge as BT's largest shareholder.
Bharti Airtel and BT have had a synergistic relationship for over two decades. Between 1997 and 2001, he held a 21% stake in Bharti Airtel along with two board seats. Over the past two decades, the Sunil Mittal-led Indian telecom has reached a market capitalization of Rs 8.26 lakh crore.
Bharti Enterprises this week bought a 24.51% stake in BT for $4 billion, making it the largest outbound deal by an Indian company. BT is Britain's largest broadband and mobile company with a market cap of £13.8 bn (about Rs 1.48 lakh crore).
The acquisition involves buying equity from Altice UK, owned by Israeli-French telecoms billionaire Patrick Drahi, who also owns auction house Sotheby's. Bharti TeleVentures UK has already acquired a 9.99% stake in BT through open market trading and plans to acquire the remaining 14.51% after obtaining necessary regulatory approvals. Led by Barclays Bank and Linklaters as lead advisors, the complex deal went smoothly. Upon completion, Bharti Enterprises will emerge as BT's largest shareholder.
Britain's withdrawal from the EU in 2020 has further strengthened UK-India ties, with India becoming the second largest source of FDI in Britain -- 961 Indian companies bringing in $65 billion. Earlier, this trend was seen in several significant acquisitions by Indian companies. The Tata Group acquired Tetley T for £271 million in 2000, Jaguar Land Rover for $2.3 billion in 2008 and the Corus Group for $12 billion in 2007, renaming it Tata Steel Europe.
Last year, Tata announced a $5.1 billion investment in a British EV battery factory. Reliance Industries acquired British battery tech company Faradion for $135 million in early 2021, not to mention branded toystore chain Hamledge for $88.5 million in 2019. Wipro acquired UK-based consultancy firm Capco for $1.45 billion in 2022. Eicher Motor, famous for Royal Enfield motorcycles, acquired the iconic British brand Royal Enfield. Mahindra & Mahindra revived the historic BSA motorcycle brand in 2021. TVS Motor Co. acquired British bikemaker Norton in 2020 and later bought a 70% stake in EBCO to manufacture e-bikes in Britain. Wadhawan Global Capital led a £32 million investment in British digital bank Zopa in 2017.
With 14 rounds completed, negotiations for an Indo-Britain FTA with bilateral support will soon resume. The FTA aims to double bilateral trade by 2030, currently at nearly £40 billion, benefiting India's textile, apparel and gems sectors. India-UK cooperation is also in the works in critical areas such as AI, semiconductors and high-performance computing. British firm SRAM & MRAM Technologies has pledged to invest Rs 30k crore in Odisha for India's semiconductor ecosystem.
Bharti's acquisition of a strategic stake in BT, along with renewed Indo-Britain relations, should open the door to synergies in the telecom industry. Bharti's participation will facilitate access to advanced telecommunication technologies and foster greater cooperation. This will boost bilateral trade and create opportunities for Indian startups and tech companies in the British market. You might say, the real East India Company is doing some serious business with this island nation.
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