Michael Golan removed from Golan Telecom sale talks

Patrick Pariente, the minor partner in Golan Telecom, is taking over the reins of the negotiations on the sale of the company, replacing Michael Golan. In other words, Golan is being shunted aside, because the negotiations are stuck, after the attempt to close a deal at the end of last week with Electra Ltd. (TASE: ELTR) and Gil Sharon failed, with Golan being blamed for the failure.

Sources inform "Gobes" that at the end of last week the shareholders in Golan Telecom realized that the negotiations headed by Michael Golan were not making progress in a way that best served their interests, as they saw them, and decided to remove Golan in favor of Pariente.

As far as is known, Electra Holdings, which was negotiating to buy Golan Telecom together with former Pelephone CEO Gil Sharon, managed to achieve progress in the negotiations but according to sources close to the deal Michael Golan repeated certain extraordinary demands as a result of which the negotiations broke down. Electra had already withdrawn from the deal a month previously but recently came back together with Sharon.

'Globes" has also learned that Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) has decided that it is no longer prepared to tolerate foot-dragging by the Golan Telecom shareholders and that if progress is not achieved in the next few days it will go to court with a demand for the liquidation of Golan Telecom. In fact, Cellcom has an application ready to file, and has made this clear to the local branch of Rothschild Bank, which is managing the negotiations on the sale of Golan Telecom.

Golan owes Cellcom NIS 600 million, and every day that goes by without Golan repaying the debt and also not making current payments for the use of Cellcom's network increases Cellcom's exposure to the risk of lawsuits from shareholders who might conclude that the company is not acting properly and is not taking steps to recover the debt.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 20, 2016

Michael Golan removed from Golan Telecom sale talks

Golan has been replaced by Patrick Pariente.