{"text":[[{"start":10.05,"text":"The UK government would oppose any attempt from Sunil Bharti Mittal to increase his stake in telecoms group BT, people familiar with the matter have said, citing the need to maintain sovereign control over “critical national infrastructure”. "}],[{"start":23.200000000000003,"text":"The stance will limit the Indian billionaire’s influence over BT, whose broadband infrastructure arm Openreach provides fibre broadband to more than 22mn homes in Britain. "}],[{"start":33.75,"text":"Mittal’s Bharti Enterprises conglomerate bought a 24.5 per cent stake in the company in 2024 from French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, and has now moved to 24.95 per cent. "}],[{"start":48.3,"text":"It would require government approval to move above the 25 per cent threshold. British officials made clear that they would look to block such a move. BT shares fell about 3 per cent on Thursday morning."}],[{"start":60.4,"text":"“It’s not to do with Bharti or India specifically, it’s a matter of keeping critical national infrastructure in sovereign UK control for obvious reasons,” said one British government figure. "}],[{"start":71.25,"text":"“It’s important the market knows this isn’t personal, but resilience and sovereign capability have a different threshold in today’s world than for generations.”"}],[{"start":80.25,"text":"They added that in general the UK government seeks to make its position clear to valued overseas investors in anticipation of possible future investments in order to avoid embarrassment. "}],[{"start":91.65,"text":"Any attempt by Bharti to increase its stake above 25 per cent would trigger a formal review under the National Security and Investment Act, a quasi-judicial process."}],[{"start":101.55000000000001,"text":"Since acquiring his stake in 2024, Mittal has enjoyed a close relationship with BT chief executive Allison Kirkby, with whom he has held several strategy meetings. Last year he secured two board seats. "}],[{"start":114.9,"text":"People familiar with the position of BT’s board in recent months have said that while Mittal had given directors the impression he had no immediate intention to increase his stake, they noted his ambitions for both the company and his own investment in the UK telecom operator. "}],[{"start":131.15,"text":"A spokesperson for Mittal declined to comment. BT also declined to comment. "}],[{"start":136.35,"text":"Mittal has been a longstanding investor in the UK, partnering with the government on a 2020 plan to take control of the failed space start-up OneWeb. His Airtel Africa group is also exploring listing its mobile money business in London after the Iran war disrupted its original plan to float in the Middle East."}],[{"start":154.25,"text":"The UK government declined to comment."}],[{"start":157.1,"text":"Additional reporting by Anjli Raval"}],[{"start":166.29999999999998,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1779955735_6262.mp3"}