Discount Investments makes offer to take control of Israel's Bezeq

Enlight Renewable Energy

05/02/2018 09:42

JERUSALEM, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Discount Investment Corp 
 DISI.TA  joined the race to take control of Israel's largest 
telecom group, Bezeq  BEZQ.TA , with an offer on Monday to buy 
its ailing parent company Eurocom for more than 1 billion 
shekels ($290 million). 
    Discount, which would have to sell its mobile operator unit 
Cellcom  CEL.TA   CEL.N  to win regulatory approval for the 
deal, will now compete with two other bidders. 
    A group led by U.S.-Israeli businessman Naty Saidoff made an 
offer to buy Eurocom in January, and Israeli media has widely 
reported that another bid that came from a private group that 
includes Neuman brothers from Israel.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1PA28R 
    Eurocom's chairman, Shaul Elovitch, who is being 
investigated by Israeli authorities for possible fraud and 
financial reporting offences, is under pressure to sell Eurocom, 
which is laden with nearly 1 billion shekels in debt. Elovitch 
has denied any wrongdoing. 
    Discount said in a statement to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange 
it was prepared to pay 375 million shekels for smaller units 
controlled by Eurocom, including Enlight Renewable Energy 
 ENLT.TA . 
    Within the following six months it would inject an 
additional 700 million shekels into Eurocom, which controls 
Bezeq with a 26 percent stake, in exchange for bonds that could 
be converted into Eurocom shares. 
    During this time, depending on approval by Israel's 
antitrust authority, Discount said it would sell its shares in 
Cellcom. 
    Discount is a subsidiary of holding company IDB Development 
Corp, whose controlling shareholder is Argentinian businessman 
Eduardo Elsztain. 
    ($1 = 3.4416 shekels) 
 
 (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch, editing by Louise Heavens) 
 ((ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com;  +972-2-632-2202; Reuters 
Messaging: ari.rabinovitch@thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)) 
 
Keywords: BEZEQ M&A/DISCOUNT INV