Motorola asks Communications Minister to expedite Mirs sale

Motorola is disappointed that a Mirs sale is not yet approved.

Motorola president and co-CEO Greg Brown has expressed amazement at the delay in the sale of Mirs Communications Ltd. to French businessman Patrick Drahi. Brown met Minister of Communications Moshe Kahlon at the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona last week, and asked him to approve the deal as soon as possible, so as not to affect the closing.

Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) is disappointed that the sale of Mirs has not yet been approved. The company had expected to sign the deal last month, after obtaining all necessary permits. The delay is due to the structure of the sale to Drahi's holding company, Cool Holding Ltd., which also owns the controlling stake in Hot Cable Systems Media Ltd. (TASE: HOT).

Ministry of Communications directives state that Israeli partners must own at least 10% of a local communications company. In order for Drahi to own Mirs, he has to bring in Israeli partners, or to structure the deal to have HOT buy Mirs.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on February 21, 2010

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2010

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