"Ilan Ben-Dov, leave my pension alone, or quit Orange," is a new Facebook page that opened following the proposed debt settlement by Orange franchisee Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR) controlling shareholder Ilan Ben-Dov for his investment house, Tao Tsuot Ltd. (TASE: TAO-M). The proposal includes the transfer of control in Partner's parent company, Suny Electronics Ltd. (TASE: SUNY) to Tao's bondholders. The proposal will result in a 60% haircut for the bondholders.
It is hard to say whether the new protest will make waves. So far, only 72 people have joined the group, but the responses on the page are written in anger.
The Facebook page says, "Ilan Ben-Dov recently announced that he will not repay the loan I gave him from my pension savings (through my pension fund that bought Tao bonds). If he does not repay me what is owed, even just by a little bit, why should I be his customer? This time I have decided to actively get angry and I set up this Facebook page. The idea is simple, effective, and does not require great effort. Each customer is worth thousands of shekels to Orange. If enough customers who lose even a penny of their pensions threaten to leave, and they actually do so (thank you Minister of Communications Moshe Kahlon!), Ben-Dov will have to choose between meeting his commitments and sell at a loss, or lose a lot of customers and lose more!"
The statement adds, "As far as I am concerned, let him sell the Red Sea Mall in Eilat and/or his villa in Afeka (a wealthy Tel Aviv neighborhood) and/or his shares in the Samsung importer (Suny) and/or his five-dunam (1.25-acre) lot in Kfar Shmaryahu (a wealthy Tel Aviv suburb), or all of the above, but repay me my money that I saved for my pension! An effective threat like this should also interest the pension funds that lent him the money without collateral, and I expect them to justify the management fee that I pay them and to act toward him as if was their personal money!".
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 19, 2011
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