Linklaters has advised its long-standing client Bharti Global, the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, on its acquisition of a 24.5 percent stake in BT Group from Altice UK for 3.2 billion pounds ($4 billion).
The move by Bharti's billionaire founder, Sunil Bharti Mittal, makes one of India's biggest conglomerates a key strategic shareholder in BT, whose new CEO Allison Kirkby is striving to revive shares by promising higher profits after years of cost-cutting, Reuters reported.
The Linklaters team was led by M&A partners Sushil Jacob and Namrata Shah and managing associate Mackenzie Hewett. Amit Singh, head of the India practice, was also involved in coordinating various aspects of the transaction.
They were supported on this transaction by members of Linklaters’ antitrust and foreign investment team led by partner Natura Gracia and counsel Mark Daniel, as well as partners Doug Shaw and Deepak Sitlani from Linklaters’ derivatives and structured products team.
A team from Linklaters Singapore led by partner Rahul Chatterji and counsel Douglas Doherty advised on the financing for this transaction.