Can you take us through the journey you undertook towards securing the stake in BT?
I remember speaking to our chairman (father Sunil Bharti Mittal) about BT maybe four or five years ago when the stock was at 1 pound, and very shortly thereafter, it ran up to 2 pounds. We had thought the opportunity had gone for us to get a sizeable chunk of this company and decided to just keep monitoring this business, as we do with other investments.
How long did it take to close the deal?
When the opportunity came to us a couple of weeks ago, we moved really fast. I think we've done this entire deal end to end in may be two or two and a half weeks.
What was the toughest part of striking this deal?
It was getting our heads around the regulatory approvals that are needed for a unique asset like BT....
Can you elaborate on financing of the $4-billion deal with BT?
The deal is fully funded through our balance sheet, as a mix of equity and debt, as we've disclosed.
From Harvard and Softbank to Unbound and Bharti Global, is this how you had planned it out for yourself?
This story is from the August 15, 2024 edition of Business Standard.
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This story is from the August 15, 2024 edition of Business Standard.
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