As a highlight of the thriving UK-India technology partnership, Bharti Global, the international investment arm of India’s telecom giant Bharti Enterprises, reached an agreement to acquire around 24.5 per cent of the issued share capital of BT Group plc.
Bharti Televentures UK Ltd, a company established and wholly owned by Bharti Global, entered into a binding agreement this week with Altice UK for the acquisition following applicable regulatory clearances. The Indian company said the investment in BT aims to support the commitment of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi towards his vision in elevating and broadening the India-UK ties.
Shravin Bharti Mittal, Managing Director of Bharti Global and Founder of Unbound, the long-term global tech investment fund, said: “We review global investment opportunities in the world of technology from digital infrastructure to software. BT is well known to us from the long association with Bharti, so we are pleased to have this opportunity to acquire a significant stake in the company.
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“We believe that BT is poised for leadership in the telecom arena, especially home broadband services.”
The Bharti Group said it hopes that this investment will further help create new synergies in the telecom sector between both countries in the areas of AI and 5G R&D and core engineering amongst others, offering great potential to collaborate on industry best practices and emerging technologies.
Allison Kirkby, Chief Executive of the BT Group, said: “We welcome investors who recognise the long-term value of our business, and this scale of investment from Bharti Global is a great vote of confidence in the future of BT Group and our strategy.
“BT has enjoyed a long association with Bharti Enterprises, and I’m pleased that they share our ambition and vision for the future of our business. They have a strong track record of success in the sector, and I look forward to ongoing and positive engagement with them in the months and years to come."
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The Bharti-BT relationship dates to 1997, when BT acquired a 21 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel and the latest development has been dubbed a “significant milestone in Bharti’s history” as it acquires a stake in the iconic British company and strengthening the India-UK bilateral partnership. It was during the recently concluded visit of UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy to India, the UK-India Technology Security Initiative was announced to expand collaboration in critical and emerging technologies across priority sectors, including telecom. This deal is seen as a move that embodies that initiative.
