(Bloomberg) -- Bharti Global has agreed to buy a major stake in BT Group Plc, a deal that will bolster the Indian company’s international expansion while giving the British carrier more investor stability.

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Bharti, an affiliate of conglomerate Bharti Enterprises, is buying the 24.5% stake from shareholder Altice UK, part of Patrick Drahi’s troubled telecommunications empire. Drahi has been selling off assets to pay down debt and the BT stake is among his most valuable.

The Indian firm, founded by billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, has been seeking opportunities abroad and the BT deal will give him a marquee holding in the UK. He said he has no intention of offering to buy out the rest of BT, which was valued at about $17 billion before the deal’s announcement.

“We are long-term telecom investors,” Mittal said in a call with reporters on Monday. “This is not a stock market operation.”

BT shares rose 8.4% in London on Monday.

Bharti’s stake in BT is part of an international expansion effort that follows investments in Africa and UK-based satellite company OneWeb, which merged with Eutelsat in 2023. Bharti didn’t disclose how much the company will pay in the transaction. The entire Altice stake would have been worth about £3.2 billion ($4.1 billion) at Friday’s closing price.

The company is initially purchasing 9.99% of shares and will acquire the remaining 14.5% after a government review, which analysts largely expect to lead to approval.

Drahi’s telecom group Altice has been trying to sell off assets over the past year to slash debt after years of acquisitions. Sales have been complicated by the fallout from a corruption investigation into key individuals tied to the group. Altice has said it’s the victim of the alleged wrongdoings.

Earlier this month, Altice agreed to sell video advertising platform Teads for about $1 billion to US ad company Outbrain Inc. Also up for sale is Altice Portugal, the unit at the center of the corruption probe involving Armando Pereira, co-founder of Altice and Drahi’s right-hand before his 2023 arrest.

Altice UK is one of several entities owned by Drahi’s investment vehicle Next Alt Sarl. Others are Altice International, which includes the company’s units in Portugal, Dominican Republic and Israel; Altice France, which runs French carrier SFR, and Altice USA. Drahi also owns auction house Sotheby’s.

BT is the UK’s largest telecoms operator and has seen its share price drop for years. The stock has dropped from an average of 167 pence per share over the two year period Altice increased its stake down to 130.5 pence per share on Friday, Bernstein analysts wrote.

The company’s new Chief Executive Officer Allison Kirkby joined at the start of the year and announced a major cost-cutting plan and dividend boost that excited investors.

“We welcome investors who recognise the long-term value of our business, and this scale of investment from Bharti Global is a great vote of confidence in the future of BT Group and our strategy,” Kirkby said in a statement on Monday.

Analysts at New Street Research estimate Drahi lost approximately 900 million pounds “given the average decline in BT shares since his entry points.”

The shift from Altice to Bharti is likely to provide more stability for BT and a boost to Kirkby’s turnaround plan. After the Bharti deal, the British operator will have three major investors that will hold around 40% of the company’s shares. Deutsche Telekom, Europe’s largest and most successful telecom operator, has a 12% stake in BT. Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges infamously said he wanted his money back in an interview last year.

Kirkby’s plans for the company have helped reverse share declines and fueled more optimism recently. Carlos Slim, the Mexican tycoon and 16th richest person in the world according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, took a 3.2% stake in the company in June.

“We see this as a positive step for BT,” a Deutsche Telekom spokesperson said in a statement. “We have a long and good working relationship with Bharti. So we are looking forward to work together with Bharti for the sake of BT shareholders and customers.”

European telecom operators including BT have been struggling to make a return on capital as they attempt to roll out expensive 5G mobile technology and connect homes to fiber lines.

Mittal said that BT has had a “glorious past” and a “tremendous amount of physical infrastructure in the UK.” He added that he supports BT’s management and strategy, but said the company could be more bold. One reason the British operator may have fallen behind, Mittal said, was a slow rollout of fiber that allowed rivals to gain market share.

Bharti Global is the international investment arm of Bharti Enterprises, with investments in telecom, technology, digital infrastructure and space communications.

The two companies have a long history together. BT owned a 21% stake in Bharti Airtel Ltd in the late 1990s.

--With assistance from Edwin Chan.

(Updates with share price in fifth paragraph)

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