BT Group In Preliminary Talks With AT&T, Orange Over International Tie-Up Possibilities: Report

British multinational telecommunications giant BT Group BTGOF has reportedly approached AT&T Inc T and Orange SA ORANY about possible partnerships.

BT has approached major telecommunications companies about potential partnerships to revitalize its international business, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The discussions are still in the early stages, and the sources mentioned there is no certainty that a deal will be reached.

“We’re keeping everything open and this means we’ve been speaking to third parties about a range of possibilities,” a BT spokesperson said in an email to Bloomberg.

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In its latest trading update on Jan. 30, BT Group reported steady progress in cost transformation, streamlining operations, and improving efficiency across all divisions. Year-to-date, network energy consumption has decreased by 3%, while the total workforce has declined by 3% year-over-year to 117,000. Additionally, Openreach has reduced repair volumes by 11% this year.

The company said its core UK business revenues remained steady. Additionally, BT secured a £1.3 billion ($163 billion). seven-year contract with the Home Office to continue providing mobile services for the Emergency Services Network.

In the trading update, Chief Executive Allison Kirkby highlighted continued momentum in BT Group’s transformation strategy, emphasizing strong operational progress across fiber rollout, customer growth, and cost efficiencies.

“Our ongoing modernization continues at pace, delivering a further step-up in fiber build and take-up, customer satisfaction and EBITDA. Benefits from our cost transformation more than offset lower revenue outside the UK and weak handset sales.”

“Consumer returned to service revenue growth and continued to expand its full fiber and 5G customer bases. In Business, our core UK channels were stable. Cost transformation remains firmly on track, with excellent progress on both energy costs and productivity in the quarter,” added Kirkby.

The company also announced the appointment of Jon James to the Executive Committee as the new CEO of a UK-centric BT Business, effective early March. According to CEO Allison Kirkby, this move allows Bas Burger (CEO of BT Global Services) to concentrate on optimizing the international business segment, which remains on track.

Price Action: T shares are trading 0.52% at $26.91 at Friday’s last check.

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