The Tel Aviv District Court today ruled that Hirsch Media will run “Israeli” newspaper on its own. The ruling came after a hearing on the dispute between Hirsch Media, owned by Shlomo Ben-Tzvi, and Newsco, owned by Sheldon Adelson over their joint investment in the newspaper.
The court criticized Newsco and cancelled the appointment of a special manager for the newspaper on Newsco’s behalf. The special manager was appointed a month ago for a 60-day period after Newsco filed with the court a request to liquidate the paper.
The court also lifted a foreclose imposed on Hirsch Media on assets up to the NIS 10.7 million lawsuit against it filed by Newsco for allegedly withdrawing money from “Israeli” illegally. The court ruled that Newsco’s announcement cancelling its joint investment in “Israeli” with Hirsch Media was valid, even though Newsco has claimed that the announcement was an error.
At today’s hearing, it was made clear that the parties had failed to reach agreement on a buyout of the newspaper by one of the parties. At the start of the hearing, Hirsch Media said that Newsco had notified it on Friday that it would not consent to the arbitration recommended by the court.
“Israeli” was not published this morning, for the first time since the dispute between its owners erupted. The newspaper waited until the court ruling this afternoon. At the end of the hearing, Ben-Tzvi said that, after meeting with the newspaper’s employees, he would decide whether to publish an edition tomorrow.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 21, 2007
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