Drahi, via his Altice UK subsidiary, is already BT's largest single shareholder, with Deutsche Telekom (DT) being the second largest with a 12.5% holding. Drahi has always maintained that he doesn't want to acquire the UK national telco lock, stock and barrel but, should this latest plan go ahead, he'll be in position to mount a sudden, aggressive takeover bid. However, simply increasing his holding above 25%, never mind up to the danger point of 29.9%, will automatically trigger a second UK government investigation into any potential threats to British national security under the terms of the National Security and Investment Act. The government invoked the same piece of legislation to investigate Altice last year and, at its conclusion, gave Drahi's move a clean bill of health. Whether or not it would come to the same conclusion a second time around, in a particularly febrile political atmosphere and at a time of heightened international tensions, is a moot point.