BT Group Shares Jump on $4 Billion Verizon Joint Venture Deal

BT Group (LON: BT.A) shares climbed 1.9% to 198.75p on Monday, hitting a session high of 199.55p, after the FTSE 100 telecoms giant announced a 50:50 joint venture with US giant Verizon Communications.

The deal combines BT International with Verizon’s international enterprise wireline arm into a single entity serving more than 3,000 customers across 180 countries, representing approximately $4 billion in combined annual revenue.

As part of the agreement, Verizon will pay BT an equalisation payment of $625 million, providing an immediate financial boost to the British group. The transaction is expected to complete in 2027, subject to regulatory clearances.

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BT Group CEO Allison Kirkby called the deal “a major milestone,” adding that it would let both parent companies sharpen their domestic focus while giving multinational customers a stronger, AI-ready connectivity platform. Martijn Blanken has been named CEO-designate of the new venture, bringing nearly three decades of telco leadership across four continents.

Alongside the announcement, BT revised its FY27 guidance to reflect BT International being treated as a discontinued operation. Adjusted group revenue guidance was trimmed to £17.1–17.6 billion from £19.0–19.5 billion, though adjusted UK service revenue was left unchanged at £15.1–15.4 billion, confirming the domestic business remains on track. Normalised free cash flow guidance of approximately £2.0 billion was also maintained.

Despite Monday’s gains, BT shares remain around 10–12% below their late-May highs of approximately 227p, meaning the stock has underperformed over the past three months.

However, zooming out, BT is still comfortably positive for the year, having begun 2026 trading in the 160–175p range. With the $625 million cash inflow, a cleaner corporate structure, and renewed strategic clarity, bulls will hope Monday’s catalyst can reignite that earlier momentum.