The chief government of Deutsche Telekom has referred to as acquiring a stake in BT the “largest mistake” he ever made, saying: “I would like my a refund.”

Tim Höttges instructed the Monetary Instances that he regretted a 2015 deal that noticed the German group take a £5.6bn stake in its British counterpart, which has since misplaced virtually £4bn of its worth.

“It was too early and I didn’t perceive all the obstacles round BT,” he mentioned.

Like lots of its European friends, the previous British monopoly has suffered from stagnant earnings, intense competitors and a falling share worth because it invests billions of kilos in upgrading its broadband community to full fibre and rolling out 5G expertise.

Deutsche Telekom has managed to defy this wider development largely due to its profitable guess on the US market by way of T-Cellular US; its shares have risen greater than 60 per cent over the previous 5 years.

The German operator gained its stake in BT as a part of a deal that noticed it and France’s Orange promote British cellular operator EE to BT for £12.5bn.

Orange settled principally for money as a part of the sale. However Höttges mentioned he took the 12 per cent stake in BT as a result of he was “panicking” about gaining publicity to an organization that included each broadband and cellular operations.

Regardless of the misplaced billions, Höttges vowed he “will get that cash again”, saying he had a “clear understanding” of choices, together with growing the stake additional within the hope that BT’s fortunes would enhance or partnering with one other large shareholder, with out specifying what motion they may take.

“I’m not nervous, I’ll keep quiet, and do the portfolio transaction once I’m prepared to take action. There might be a time after we will do a deal,” Höttges mentioned, including that BT is the “most cost-effective telco” and has plenty of potential to extend its worth.

Franco-Israeli tycoon Patrick Drahi has constructed an 18 per cent stake in BT, though his potential to construct the holding additional is challenged by the UK’s new powers to scrutinise and restrict international possession of property considered vital to nationwide safety.

“Patrick Drahi is without doubt one of the smartest cats,” mentioned Höttges, referring to the stakebuilding in BT. “He’s sitting in entrance of the outlet ready for when the mouse is prepared, to catch it.”

Over the previous yr, a number of telecoms tycoons and personal fairness teams have taken multibillion-pound stakes in what they understand to be undervalued British telecoms teams. French billionaire Xavier Niel and US group Liberty World have acquired chunks of Vodafone’s shares, becoming a member of United Arab Emirates telecoms operator e&, which has constructed a 13 per cent stake.

Nevertheless, Höttges was crucial of this method, saying it risked firms being finally break up aside unnecessarily and funding wants being sidelined, which might be “very unhealthy for patrons, very unhealthy for the sovereignty of Europe [and] very unhealthy for infrastructure”.