Altice ups stake in BT – but ‘does not intend’ to launch takeover bid

By Guy Taylor

Altice, the French telecoms firm, will up its stake in BT to 24.5 per cent, but it “does not intend” to make a takeover bid.

The group owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi is BT’s largest shareholder, and said that it will acquire a further 650m shares, increasing its ownership to 2.5bn.

It comes just a few days after the telecoms firm announcement that it would get rid of 55,000 of its employee by 2030, 10,000 of which would be replaced by artificial intelligence.

Its share price tumbled by 10 per cent on the announcement, but later stabilised.

Drahi first purchased a 12 per cent, £2.2bn stake in BT in June 2021, following announcements that the telecoms company would invest £12bn to boost its fibre network in the UK.

Drahi increased this holding to 18 per cent later that year, which led to the UK government investigating the security implications of Altice’s stakehold in the British telecoms firm.

The investigation ultimately concluded that it would take no further action, with Drahi maintaining his stake in the firm.

BT shares were up 0.45 per cent this morning after the announcement.

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