The billionaire Patrick Drahi has increased his stake in BT to 18%, prompting the government to warn it could step in to block a full potential takeover of the British telecoms giant.
Drahi’s telecoms group Altice UK, which in June paid £2.2bn for a 12.1% stake to become BT’s largest shareholder, has paid about another £1bn to further boost its shareholding.
“We are pleased to take this opportunity to increase our shareholding in BT,” said Drahi. “Over recent months we have engaged constructively with the board and management of BT and look forward to continuing that dialogue.”
Drahi, who had been blocked from making a further move until 11 December under UK takeover rules, played down the stake-building and reiterated that he did not intend
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