Former Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) CEO Avi Gabbay has for some time been negotiating to buy El Al Israel Airlines Ltd. (TASE: ELAL). According to market sources, Gabbay approached Saban Capital Group, headed by Haim Saban, with a proposal to put together a consortium with it to buy control of the airline.
As far as is known, the Saban Group asked Gabbay to prepare a feasibility study for such a deal, but no meeting has yet been held between representatives of Saban and El Al.
Former Israeli Haim Saban, a billionaire based in the US, has been involved in large transactions in Israel in the past. He sold control of Bezeq in 2009, and bought control of another Israeli telecommunications company, Partner Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR), in 2013.
No response to the report was received from Saban Capital Group.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on December 23, 2013
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