Last checked at 
By Paul Sandle and Kate Holton
LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - The biggest shareholder in
Britain's BT, Franco-Israeli telecoms entrepreneur
Patrick Drahi, will be free to make a takeover offer for the
company from next week after a standstill agreement preventing
such a move expires.
With shares in the owner of Britain's nationwide network
still 65% below 2015 highs, speculation has swirled that it
could become vulnerable to a takeover before the benefits of its
$20 billion fibre build start to materialise.
Drahi, who has persued debt-fuelled deals to snap up assets
in France, the United States, Portugal and Israel, announced in
June he had bought a 12.1% stake in BT, worth 2.2 billion pounds
($2.9 billion) at the time.
Shares in the company jumped to a 17-month high of 198 pence
after Drahi's move, but had given up the gains a month later.
They were trading at 178 pence on Friday, giving the company a
market capitalisation of 17.5 billion pounds.
Drahi said in June that he held the management of BT in high
regard and supported the company's strategy to build a fibre
network serving 25 million homes and businesses by 2026.
However, three sources familiar with the matter have told
Reuters that he is looking to increase his stake in a bid to
extend his influence.
Spokespeople for Drahi and BT declined to comment.
Britain's government would be put in a difficult position if
anyone sought to take control of the 175-year-old group, due to
its role in national security and in bringing better
connectivity to the regions of the country.
BT bolstered its takeover defences by hiring boutique
advisory group Robey Warshaw in October. It also added
change-of-control clauses to some of its bonds the following
month.
Chief Executive Philip Jansen is cutting costs, speeding up
the fibre build and talking up long-term returns to investors.
In its consumer division it is simplifying 100 different
customer management systems into one, a person familiar with the
matter told Reuters.
BT must also decide the future of BT Sport after beginning
talks in April about selling either a stake or the whole
business.
Sports streaming company DAZN is the frontrunner for an
outright sale, but wrangles over subscriber revenue and access
have stopped the deal getting over the line, sources have said.
BT is in partnership talks with Discovery as an alternative,
according to the Sunday Telegraph.
($1 = 0.7552 pounds)
(Reporting by Paul Sandle and Kate Holton; Editing by Kirsten
Donovan)
