The businessman, who moved to France as a teenager and holds Israeli, French and Portuguese citizenships, is BT’s largest shareholder and has previously struck deals with debt to buy assets in France, the US, Portugal and Israel. Subscribe to Business Today Get ready for the business day – we’ll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Drahi bought 12.1% of BT last year before his investment group Altice increased its stake to 18% at a cost of around £2.2bn. BT’s share price rose 1.8% on Tuesday morning after the government decision was announced. Shares had fallen after the announcement of the government investigation. Drachi, who has a net worth of $7bn (£5.9bn), according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, built his empire by developing and selling a string of telecommunications companies. He founded Altice in 2001, taking on debt to fund acquisitions across Europe and then the US. However, he is perhaps best known in the UK for his $3.7 billion purchase of Sotheby’s in 2019. Drachi said he bought the auction house “with my family” – he is an art collector believed to have works by Picasso and Matisse. Drachi’s investment had sparked speculation about his intentions for the business, although he has yet to spell out his strategy publicly. The government’s decision to proceed with its investment could pave the way for further increases in the size of its stake, although the government made clear on Tuesday that it could evaluate “any future transaction”. But the decision removes a source of uncertainty hanging over BT, which is also facing strikes by thousands of workers hoping to win higher wages. Engineers at broadband infrastructure subsidiary Openreach and BT call center workers who are members of the Communications Workers Union will go on strike on Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Drahi’s investment in BT has prompted government scrutiny under new powers to intervene in takeovers of companies with interests in critical sectors of the UK economy, including communications, energy, defense and transport. BT controls much of the UK’s fiber broadband network and the government in May said it would “call in” the deal to investigate any threat to national security. “BT Group has now been informed by the secretary of state that no further action will be taken,” BT said, referring to Altice. The business department said in a statement: “After careful consideration, the government will take no further action on the acquisition of Altice’s 5.9% stake in BT.”
