Businessman Gerald Zadikoff and the Castle Placement company are behind the group of investors interested in Golan Telecom Ltd.. Contacts are still in the initial stages, and the investors' plans and how serious they are still unclear. At the same time, it is clear that initial contacts with Cellcom Israel Ltd. (NYSE:CEL; TASE:CEL) and the Ministry of Communications have taken place. Sources inform "Globes" that the group has asked former Cellcom CEO Amos Shapira for his help in the negotiations between the parties. A deal for acquiring Golan Telecom requires Cellcom's consent, which is why the group contacted Cellcom.
Golan Telecom is up for sale, and a number of parties are conducting negotiations simultaneously with Golan Telecom and Cellcom. Those interested include businessman Hezi Bezalel, the owner of Xfone; businessman Zvi Barenboim; and businessmen Yaron Gazit and Amnon Dick.
Cellcom today reported to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) that the Antitrust Authority had approved the network unification agreement signed with Bezalel's Xfone. This approval, which is purely formal and of no significance right now, is part of Xfone's efforts to acquire Golan Telecom; the networks unification agreement is part of this deal.
Bezalel is persisting in his efforts to acquire Golan Telecom, and efforts are now being made to restart the sale of the company. The deal is complicated, and includes the agreement with the purchasers to reach an understanding with Golan Telecom on the price, in addition to an agreement with Cellcom, to which Golan Telecom owes NIS 600 million. Any deal with Golan Telecom therefore requires approval and an agreement on consolidation of the networks. Another problem is approval of the agreement by the Ministry of Communications, because the ministry is posing conditions for a network unification agreement, so that it will meet the earlier conditions of investment in both 3G and 4G.
This item is very difficult for new buyers from outside the telecommunications market. Other players in the market are threatening that any agreement with a buyer for Golan Telecom will have to meet the requirements of the Ministry of Communications, which cannot grant the buyers concessions, because Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) is threatening to petition the High Court of Justice against the ministry if the latter grants the buyer concessions denied to Partner when it signed its network unification agreement with HOT Mobile Ltd..
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 30, 2016
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