Ron Lauder's JCS quitting Israel

Ron Lauder Photo: Tamar Matsafi
Ron Lauder Photo: Tamar Matsafi

The company, formerly a significant communications player in Israel, will sell the two buildings it owns in Jerusalem.

Ron Lauder is shutting down the activity of JCS in Israel. The company, formerly an important player in production and communications services, has greatly cut back its activity in recent year and now focuses mainly on two buildings it owns on Jaffa Street in Jerusalem.

The buildings, worth an estimated NIS 100 million, will be sold, but this move is not expected to have a dramatic effect on the local communications market. While the main news broadcast of Channel 10 is broadcast daily from JCS's buildings, the channel has not received communications and production services from the company, so in principle there should be no problem about reaching an agreement with the purchaser of the buildings; the current tenants can continue their lease there.

Foreign channels and correspondents operating in Israel, including CNN and other channels, will be hurt by this development because they receive communications services from JCS and will now have to find another company to provide those services.

JCS also has studios in Tel Aviv from which the Hadashot company (formerly Hadashot 2) operates, but JCS does not own these buildings, so the company's leaving Israel should have no negative effect on Hadashot.

Lauder has hired investment bank Value Base, headed by Yair Ephrati, to handle the sale of JCS. Legal advice in the move will be provided by Adv. Almog Doron, a partner in the Yaacov, Salomon, Lipschutz & Co. law firm.

A representative of Lauder said, "Ronald S. Lauder has decided to sell the company's buildings and channel his investments in Israel toward development of the Negev and the Galilee as part of his investment in Zionism. He regards these regions as his personal vision and life's work in Israel. The company's customers were informed when the decision was made."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 12, 2018

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2018

Ron Lauder Photo: Tamar Matsafi
Ron Lauder Photo: Tamar Matsafi
Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018