Sources inform “Globes” that the Ministry of Justice plans to sell 155 million Bezeq shares belonging to Gad Zeevi at NIS 7.43 per share, 2.2% below market, for a total of some NIS 1.15 billion. The block amounts to 5.9% of Bezeq. The shares will be distributed by UBS. Zeevi’s shares in Bezeq, amounting altogether to about 17% of the company, are held by his receiver, so that their sale requires court approval. UBS's comission on the sale will amount to some NIS 4.65 million.
Trading in Bezeq shares on the stock exchange is suspended. The company has released an announcement saying, “The company will publish a statement on the reports of the sale of the company’s shares. Trading in the company’s securities will resume after the statement is published.”
Yesterday, Bezeq announced that the Apax-Saban group had realized part of its holding in the company. The consortium sold 5.64% of Bezeq for NIS 1.2 billion, at NIS 7.5 per share. It is believed that most of the shares will go to institutions via Leader Capital Markets and Citigroup.
The sale comes about a year after the consortium exercised an option to buy 10% of the shares in Bezeq at NIS 3.8 per share and raised its stake to 40%. Since then, the market price of the share has risen by more than 30%, so that the consortium sought to take it profits, particularly Apax which, as a private equity fund, wanted to distribute profits to its investors.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on August 10, 2009
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