Cellcom and Pelephone say an acquisition will damage their relationships with Nokia rep Eurocom.
Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) and Bezeq Israel Telecommunications Company Ltd. (TASE:BZEQ) unit Pelephone Communications Ltd. both believe that cooperation between them and Eurocom Group, which is owned by chairman Shaul Elovitch and is Nokia's representative in Israel, could be harmed. Cellcom and Pelephone indicate there could be damage to their cooperation with Eurocom Group, if Elovitch succeeds in his bid to acquire the country's third mobile operator Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR).
Industry sources believe that if Elovitch takes control of Partner, then the company will have access to information and a business advantage in purchasing handsets. Cellcom and Pelephone will not agree to such a situation and have indicated that sales of Nokia handsets could be harmed.
The same sources stress that the harm to relations with Nokia will not only be in access to information and prices but also in sales of handsets where Nokia holds a 50% market share in Israel.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 9, 2009
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