Bharti Enterprises, the Indian conglomerate, just acquired a huge 24.5% stake in BT, one of the big UK telecoms, from French billionaire Patrick Drahi. But while Bharti seems a better fit, the UK government is concerned over foreign ownership and may impose some restrictions to ensure BT remains under British influence.

The deal represents one of the biggest changes for one of Britain’s largest telecoms companies in recent memory: Bharti Enterprises, an Indian mega-corporation helmed by the billionaire Sunil Bharti Mittal, has acquired a 24.5 per cent stake in BT. The stake had previously been owned by the French billionaire Patrick Drahi through his investment vehicle, Altice Group. Now Bharti joins a list of other international players such as Deutsche Telekom from Germany, which owns 12 per cent of BT, and the Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim, who holds 3 per cent.

The market did not take great fancy to Patrick Drahi, the previous owner of the stake. Over the past couple of years, he kept everybody guessing about his intentions regarding BT, which perhaps introduced an element of instability. It was clear that Drahi was a seller rather than a buyer and has now decided to sell the stake probably at a major loss. With Drahi out of the way, BT shares rose 8%.

That might take Bharti some time to settle into, because it needs unwinding the complex financial arrangements Drahi had in place for his BT stake. Basically, things will be simpler. That will be some relief to BT. It’s still building a fibre broadband network right across the UK and doesn’t need any distractions from its major shareholders.

Though Bharti still seems the better bet than Drahi, there are question marks over their long-term intentions for BT. On the first day as the company’s biggest shareholder, Bharti was at pains to praise BT’s “market-leading brands, high-quality assets,” and its long-term stability—their words were reassuring. Bharti’s promise not to bid for BT in full runs only until August, which is standard in these circumstances.

This uncertainty has alerted the UK government, which may use the NSIA to scrutinise the transaction and come out to make a statement on BT ownership. The government might argue that no foreign buyer should be allowed to own BT outright and a 25% stake should be the limit.

BT is a £14 billion company and the 34th largest business in the FTSE 100 index, but more importantly, BT underpins so much of the economy. A dependable, quick broadband network is probably today’s lifeblood; BT is expected to remain the biggest provider for years to come. Something like the NSIA does seem almost tailor-made for a situation in which a vital national asset is at stake.

The best form of ownership to ensure BT’s long-term success and accountability is through the current ownership model where it is a public listed company on the stock exchange. This system delivers far more openness and boardroom accountability than private ownership. A publicly traded share price also acts as an early warning signal in case of any trouble and even as an indication of excessive profits at the expense of customers. The case of the water industry in the UK 20 years back is one such example that tells us how hazardous it could be to let critical assets go into the hands of foreign conglomerates.

In other words, Bharti’s acquiring a 24.5% stake in BT would mean some much-needed stability and improvement over Drahi’s ownership, but there are still concerns with respect to long-term implications. The control of BT will most probably be closely watched by the UK government to remain under British influence and to continue serving the country’s needs in the best manner possible. The future of BT is unfolding, but one thing is not in doubt: the UK will play its part in deciding it.