BT Group PLC (LSE:BT.A)’s biggest shareholder Altice has increased its stake after swooping for a further 650mln shares.
Altice, owned by billionaire Patrick Drahi, now holds around 24.5% of the UK telco but reiterated it does not intend to make a bid for the firm.
Drahi took an initial 12.1% stake in June 2021, citing the opportunity presented by the national rollout of next generation broadband, and then increased it to 18% later that year.
Drahi, who founded Altice in 2001 and still serves as its chairman, said the investment was a sign of confidence in BT, given the UK government’s plan to expand next-generation full-fibre and gigabit-speed broadband across the country.
In August 2022, the UK government ruled the investment did not pose any national security concerns.
Shares in BT fell heavily last week after the company unveiled plans to cut between 40,000 and 55,000 jobs - up to 42% of its workforce - by the end of the decade as it looks to trim costs and become a “leaner business with a brighter future”.
The firm said the reductions, which include both employees and third-party contractors, would be completed between 2028 and 2030.