Patrick Drahi, founder of Altice and BT's single largest shareholder, is said to be keen to increase his stake in the company as he believes plans to roll out fiber and 5G connectivity will be highly profitable in the long run.
His vehicle Altice UK acquired 12% of BT in June, a move that surprised many in the industry. He then pledged not to launch a takeover bid for at least six months, a legally binding commitment that expires on December 11.
Drahi has already endorsed BT's network strategy and existing management structure, and supports plans to cover 25 million homes and businesses with full fiber optics by 2025.
BT Altice
The suggestion is that he believes that these implementations will increase the value of BT in the future. Buy by gathering a larger stake as soon as possible, the potential profits for Drahi would be much higher.
Reuters says Drahi intends to take advantage of his freedom from his legally binding commitments when they are due next month and plans to build up a stake that could also involve BT's second-biggest shareholder, Deutsche Telekom.
The German phone company owns 12% of the capital after receiving shares in BT's acquisition of mobile operator EE in 2016. The three parties declined to comment on the agency.
Altice was founded by Patrick Drahi in 2001 and has since become France's second largest telecommunications operator through the acquisition of several regional cable companies and mobile operator SFR. It also has a significant presence in Israel, Portugal and the Dominican Republic.
It is assumed that any move by BT could be linked to an exit from Portugal. Several private equity firms have been linked to a takeover, but the asking price is believed to put off some potential suitors.
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