Patrick Drahi: The secretive billionaire stalking BT

BT USED to declare it was “good to talk”. The telecoms giant’s biggest investor, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, is more into action than words.

- Lucy Tobin

BT USED to declare it was “good to talk”. The telecoms giant’s biggest investor, French billionaire Patrick Drahi, is more into action than words. “If you want to be successful… listen and do not talk too much,” the low-profile billionaire told a French magazine in a rare interview.

Drahi, 58, is well known for corporate swashbuckling and today the founder of French media giant Altice will be free to start poking BT: December 10 sees the expiry of a six-month, no-bid clause triggered by UK takeover rules when Drahi spent £2.2 billion snapping up 12.1% of BT in June.

He may continue to watch from the sidelines with gentle declarations. In June Drahi declared he “fully support[s] the [BT] management’s strategy”.

But Drahi’s corporate history doesn’t suggest he will be a patient passenger, especially at what many say is still a bloated ex-state monopoly.