UK likely to oppose Sunil Mittal’s move to increase BT stake: Report

NEW DELHI: The British government is expected to oppose any attempt by Bharti Enterprises Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal to increase his stake in telecom group BT, citing concerns around maintaining sovereign control over critical national infrastructure, a report has said.

A report published in the Financial Times said -- citing people familiar with the matter -- that the UK government would resist any move by Bharti to expand its ownership in the British telecom operator beyond current levels.

According to the report, a spokesperson for Mittal declined to comment, while BT also did not comment.

The development comes days after reports suggested Bharti Enterprises was exploring the possibility of increasing its stake in BT to just below the threshold that would trigger a mandatory takeover offer for the company.

Bharti currently holds a 24.95 per cent stake in BT.

A Bharti spokesperson had earlier said the company was satisfied with its existing shareholding and currently had no plans to increase its stake further.

In September last year, Sunil Bharti Mittal, founder and chairman of Bharti Enterprises, along with Gopal Vittal, vice-chairman and managing director of Bharti Airtel, joined the BT board as non-independent non-executive directors.

Earlier this month, Mittal said he intends to gradually hand over leadership responsibilities to the next generation over the next decade while expressing a preference for Bharti Telecom to eventually regain majority control.