Market sees Slim’s move as validation of CEO Allison Kirkby’s approach to improving the former monopoly’s fortunes
Through his family business, Inbursa, the Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim has spent about £150 million to increase his stake in BT to 4.3%. He acquired the initial stake of 3.2% in June for some £400 million.
In August, the distressed Altice Group, BT’s biggest shareholder, announced it is to sell its 24.5% stake in BT to Bharti Enterprises. The Indian conglomerate is controlled by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal. The monetary value of the proposed deal was not made public but is worth more than £3 billion. BT owned a 21% stake in and consequently had two seats on the board of the Indian telco Bharti Airtel from 1997 to 2001.
Deutsche Telekom remains BT’s second biggest shareholder, with about a 12% holding. This stems from the German operator accepting payment for its stake in ee when BT bought the mobile operator in 2015. DT jointly owned ee with France’s Orange.BT’s share price in 2015 peaked at £479.35 in 2015. It now stands at £141.50.
News of Slim increasingly his stake pushed BT shares up, which analyst have seen as support for CEO Allison Kirkby’s strategy to cut costs and realign the group.
The foundations of Slim’s empire came from his ownership of the Mexico’s state telco and his group now controls América Móvil. This is not his first sally into European telecoms – previously he has held stakes in the Netherland’s KPN and Telekom Austria.