UK to review Altice’s 18 per cent stake in BT on national security grounds
The government will launch a national security review into Altice’s 18 per cent stake in BT, business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced today.
Kwarteng has used new powers as a part of the National Security Act to examine the French telecommunications group’s stake in BT amid speculation that Altice’s chair Patrick Dahi wants to make a takeover bid for the British company.
The business secretary now has 30 working days to probe the national security impact of Altice’s stake in BT.
BT’s stock price fell by 2.37 per cent today after the announcement of the review.
BT said it would “fully co-operate with this review”.
Drahi, a French billionaire and media tycoon, first purchased a 12 per cent stake in BT for £2bn in June 2021, before increasing the stake to 18 per cent in December.
This sparked speculation that Altice would soon push for a leveraged takeover of the flagship British company.
Ben Barringer, equity research analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said: “The fact he has been raising his stake in the company has been well known and is not news, so the fact the government has decided to act now shows it may want to be seen to flex its muscle on key national infrastructure.
“Furthermore, the national security act is relatively new and given the interest in BT and Vodafone recently there is clearly a desire to review the independence of these companies and potentially prevent flagship UK companies from falling into overseas ownership.”