Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, Azim Premji: Indians who have bought British companies

In a remarkable display of global ambition and strategic acquisitions, we have seen several prominent Indian businessmen making headlines by acquiring stakes in British companies. Recently, Indian business tycoon Sunil Mittal, the chairman of Bharti Enterprises, has made a major announcement that marks the increasing dominance of Indian firms in the international telecommunications industry. Bharti Enterprises will acquire a 24.5 per cent stake in the telecom firm, BT Group, which is Britain’s largest broadband and mobile company. This deal will be completed for about Rs. 34,000 crore. This strategic investment will make Bharti the largest stakeholder of BT Group, which is a reversal of the earlier position when BT had invested in Bharti Airtel in 1997.
 
The deal entails buying shares from Altice UK, the telecom firm owned by Patrick Drahi, the telecom tycoon who had to offload assets because of high debts. The deal entails an immediate purchase of 9.99% with the remaining 14.51% contingent on regulatory approvals.

Bharti Enterprises is not the only Indian company with dreams of going global. Tata Group has also invested in the UK, and in the recent past, the group has declared to invest 4 billion pounds to set up a battery gigafactory that will support electric mobility and renewable energy. This facility is to be one of the largest of its kind in Europe and is estimated to generate thousands of employment opportunities.

Reliance Industries of Mukesh Ambani has found a foothold in the UK market, buying Faradion Ltd, for USD 1.36 billion, which deals in battery technology, and buying Britain’s 259-year-old toy store Hamleys by acquiring a 100% stake in the company in 2019.

Azim Premji’s company Wipro also made a big investment in Britain in 2022 when they bought a management consultancy firm, capco for USD 1.45 billion. Anand Mahindra’s Mahindra & Mahindra, has also made a significant foray into the UK market through acquisitions and thus the growth of Indian companies internationally, they bought Britain’s BSA Motorcycle in 2021
 
London-based Vedanta Resources of Anil Agarwal, and pharma firms such as Cipla and Glenmark are some Indian players with stakes in the UK. It is in line with the general inclination of Indian tycoons to expand their investment portfolio and enter the global markets, especially in the growing sectors.