Four funds interested in stake in Israel's Bezeq -media report

B Communications

27/11/2017 10:07

JERUSALEM, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Four funds are interested in 
buying control of Bezeq Israel Telecom  BEZQ.TA  from holding 
company Eurocom, which needs to repay bank debt and whose 
chairman is under investigation for securities fraud, according 
to a media report. 
    Financial news website Calcalist said on Monday that British 
private equity group Apax, Israel's Brosh Capital Partners and 
two other foreign funds were preparing separate offers for 
Eurocom's 26.3 percent stake in Bezeq. Eurocom, through its 
subsidiaries, is Bezeq's biggest shareholder and has control of 
the company. 
    Shares in Bezeq, Israel's largest telecom group, were up 4.5 
percent following the report. 
    Both Apax, which sold a major stake in Bezeq in 2010, and 
Brosh Capital, declined to comment. Officials at Eurocom also 
declined to comment. 
    Bezeq said last week that Eurocom had received letters from 
banks calling on it to "repay a significant debt", but did not 
say how much. Calcalist said the holding company owes 1.2 
billion shekels ($342 million). 
    Eurocom's chairman, Shaul Elovitch, was replaced as chairman 
of Bezeq on an interim basis in June in the wake of an 
investigation into suspected fraud and financial reporting 
offences involving Bezeq executives. This month Elovitch said he 
would not be returning to Bezeq.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL5N1NC1BA 
    The Israel Securities Authority said earlier this month that 
it had found enough evidence to support bringing criminal 
charges against senior officials. Elovitch has denied any 
wrongdoing. 
    Bezeq is not up for sale but the possible charges and 
pressure from creditors have led many in the industry to expect 
that Elovitch will be forced to sell his Bezeq stake if charged, 
Calcalist said. 
      
 ($1 = 3.5010 shekels) 
 
 (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch and Tova Cohen; Editing by Susan 
Fenton) 
 ((ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com;  +972-2-632-2202; Reuters 
Messaging: ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: BEZEQ M&A/