Patrick Drahi is looking to increase his stake in BT Group plc (LSE:BT.A) as he seeks to extend his influence at the British company, betting its fibre-optic rollout will boost value, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. The Franco-Israeli entrepreneur's new vehicle Altice Europe N.V. is BT's largest shareholder, ahead of Deutsche Telekom AG (XTRA:DTE) which owns 12.06%. Deutsche Telekom has repeatedly voiced interest in reviewing options for its stake and Chief Executive Officer Tim Hoettges said on November 12, 2021 he was keeping "all options open" regarding BT.

The three sources, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, said any stake-building plan was likely to involve Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE). Altice, BT and Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. The sources said a Drahi stake increase in BT could happen in conjunction with a potential Altice exit from Portugal.

Drahi hired Lazard earlier this year to represent Altice Europe NV in reviewing options for its business in Portugal which controls mobile and fixed-line service provider MEO, separate sources have previously told Reuters. A group of private equity funds and infrastructure investors, including European funds EQT AB (publ) (OM:EQT) and CVC Capital Partners Limited, have come forward for the business but price expectations are seen as a major hurdle, according to the sources who cautioned that a deal was not certain. An Altice representative said the business in Portugal was not for sale.

EQT declined to comment, while CVC was not immediately available to comment. The three sources familiar with the matter said corporate buyers including Spanish telecoms firms Telefónica, S.A. (BME:TEF) and MásMóvil Ibercom, S.A. have deemed the unit too expensive and won't submit an offer. Drahi has set a price tag of about €7 billion ($8.01 billion) for the business, valuing it at about eight times its annual core earnings and raising pressure on the bidders who have until Christmas to decide if they want to make firm offers or walk away, the sources said.

Telefonica and MasMovil declined to comment.