Billionaire Patrick Drahi allowed to keep BT stake after security review
The billionaire Patrick Drahi will not be forced to cut his stake in BT after the UK government ruled the investment did not pose any national security implications.
The entrepreneur, who moved to France as a teenager and holds Israeli, French and Portuguese citizenships, is BT’s biggest shareholder and has previously pursued debt-fuelled deals to buy assets in France, the US, Portugal and Israel.
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Drahi bought 12.1% of BT last year before his investment group Altice increased its holding to 18%.
The investment in the telecoms company behind the British fibre network prompted the government in May to say it would “call in” the deal to investigate any threat to national security.
“BT Group has now been notified by the secretary of state that no further action is to be taken,” BT said, referring to Altice.
The announcement of a government investigation had knocked BT’s shares at the time. Shares rose 1.7% in early trading on Tuesday after the announcement of the security review’s findings.
The national security legislation came into force this year, giving the government powers to scrutinise and, if necessary, intervene in acquisitions.
Read more on theguardian.com
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