Drahi's Altice lifts stake in BT to 18% but says no plans for bid

French Telecoms giant Altice said it had increased its stake in Britain’s BT Group to 18% and reiterated that it had no plans to stage a takeover under UK rules.

Altice, owned by Patrick Drahi, bought a further 585.5m BT shares after building a 12% stake in June at a cost of £2.2bn – making it BT’s biggest shareholder.

He pledged at the time not to make a bid for the company, meaning he couldn’t do so for six months under UK takeover rules.

"We are pleased to take this opportunity to increase our shareholding in BT. Over recent months we have engaged constructively with the board and Management of BT and look forward to continuing that dialogue,” Drahi said on Tuesday.

“We continue to hold them in high regard and remain fully supportive of their strategy, principally to play the pivotal role in delivering the expansion of access to a full fibre broadband network; an investment programme which is so important to both BT and to the UK."

Drahi is hoping to cash in on the opportunity presented by the national rollout of next generation broadband in Britain.