Israeli regulator approves new ownership for Partner Communications

Hutchison Telecommunications Hong Kong Holdings

29/03/2022 14:17

By Steven Scheer
    JERUSALEM, March 29 (Reuters) - Israel's telecoms regulator
on Tuesday approved new ownership for Partner Communications
 PTNR.TA , just as the industry is set to benefit from a rise in
tourism.
    In late 2021, a group of investors including former Cellcom
 CEL.TA  CEO Avi Gabay and former Bezeq Israel Telecom  BEZQ.TA 
chairman Shlomo Rodav signed a deal to buy a controlling stake
in Partner from Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison  0215.HK . 
    Since then, Hutchison's 27.1% shareholding was in the hands
of a court appointed trustee.
    Partner is Israel's second-largest mobile phone operator but
it has turned into a broader telecoms group with TV and internet
services.
    The investor group also includes insurance and financial
firms Menora Mivtachim  MMHD.TA , Clal  CLIS.TA  and Phoenix
 PHOE1TA .
    Phoenix will hold 20% of Partner as well as 10% of Cellcom.
    But the ministry said it approved the deal on a view that
competition in the mobile sector would be promoted.
    It noted the interest of financial entities seeking to
increase investments in cellular companies was an expression of
confidence in the communications market and its growth. 
    "The entry of institutional investors into the market may
increase public welfare, in part due to the stability that
companies will be given to operate in the long term," the
ministry said.
    Partner and its peers were hit during the COVID-19 pandemic
when tourism declined sharply. But demand for cellular roaming
services from tourism has grown after Israel started to allow
the entry of foreign tourists this year.

 (Reporting by Steven Scheer
Editing by Mark Potter)
 ((steven.scheer@thomsonreuters.com; +972 2 632 2210; Reuters
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