Bharti Enterprises, an India-based conglomerate led by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, has agreed to buy a 24.5% stake in BT Group from Patrick Drahi’s Altice. BT’s share price rose as much as 6.4% in early trading.
Bharti said the company had entered into a binding agreement with Altice to purchase 10 percent of BT shares immediately, with the remainder due upon “receipt of relevant regulatory approvals.”
Bharti said it supported BT’s leadership team and strategy and had no plans to make a bid for the entire company. It did not disclose how much it would pay for the stake. At Friday’s closing price, Altice’s 24.5 percent stake was worth about 3.2 billion pounds ($4 billion).
Bharti Global said the investment was “a vote of confidence in the UK as an attractive global investment destination with a stable business and policy environment that is attractive to long-term investors”.
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Altice, controlled by French-Israeli billionaire Patrick Drahi, had increased its stake in BT in recent years and was already facing a national security investigation in 2022.
Founded by Mittal in 1976, Bharti Global is one of India’s largest conglomerates with interests in telecommunications, media, aerospace and other sectors. Mittal, 66, is the company’s chairman.
Adani Enterprises shares fell over 7% after U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research alleged that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) chairwoman Madhabi Puri Buch and her husband made undisclosed investments in an offshore fund structure used by Vinod Adani, brother of Adani Group founder Gautam Adani.
The report suggests that SEBI’s inaction against Adani Group despite evidence of fraudulent practices could be due to Buch’s involvement in these funds.
“Madhabi Buch and her husband owned shares in a multi-layered offshore fund structure with tiny assets that traversed known high-risk jurisdictions and was overseen by a company allegedly linked to the Wirecard scandal. It is the same entity that was headed by an Adani director and used significantly by Vinod Adani in the alleged Adani fund embezzlement scandal,” the report added, according to local media.
Hindenburg Research called for further investigation into these allegations. The company has pledged to donate all proceeds from the report to causes that support free speech.
SEBI has yet to release the results of several lengthy investigations into the Adani Group after India’s Supreme Court ordered in January that the probes be completed within three months.
Buch and her husband issued a statement calling Hindenburg’s report an attack on SEBI’s credibility and an attempted “character assassination.”
Adani Energy Solutions (ADANIENSOL.NS) plunged as much as 17% before recovering most of its loss. All but one of the conglomerate’s 10 stocks traded lower.
Shares of the Chinese e-commerce company were slightly higher in Hong Kong ahead of the release of results that will give investors an overview of China’s economy and consumer confidence on Thursday.
“The Chinese technology sector’s balance sheet is strong. Many companies have amassed significant cash reserves in recent years, providing ample scope to boost shareholder returns through buybacks and dividends,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Robert Lea and Jasmine Lyu.
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Analysts expect revenue to grow by around 7% year-on-year, but profits to fall by over 13%. The consensus for the quarter is earnings per share (EPS) of $2.09 on revenue of $34.62 billion (£27.11 billion).
The stock has only risen 4% this year, while its American competitor Amazon (AMZN) has gained 10%.
Home Depot (HD)
The home improvement retailer’s shares rose in premarket trading as the company is set to announce its quarterly results on August 13.
The group is expected to report slight declines in sales and profits compared to the same period last year as inflation-concerned consumers hold back on spending on expensive home improvement projects.
Analysts expect Home Depot’s second-quarter revenue to be $42.57 billion, down from $42.92 billion a year ago. Net income is expected to decline to $4.48 billion, down from $4.66 billion in the second quarter of fiscal 2023.
JPMorgan said the retailer could join other companies in lowering its forecasts for the upcoming earnings season.
“Given the mixed backdrop and the prospect of elections and a shortened holiday season, we expect interest rate cuts to continue broadly, albeit to varying degrees,” JPMorgan analysts wrote of retail.
Currently, Home Depot’s stock price is more or less flat year-over-year, indicating a period of stagnation.
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