Last Wednesday, Tel Aviv District Court Judge Eitan Orenstin approved a $32.5 million debt settlement for the owners of Fore Group Management and Investments Ltd. - brothers Moshe and Eli Shushan and brothers Dov and Gad Slook - which has telecommunications operations in India and Africa. The settlement includes a 50% write-off of the owners' $65 million in debts to the banks and other creditors, including Mivtach Shamir Holdings Ltd. (TASE:MISH), controlled by Meir Shamir. Under the terms of the settlement, the owners will try to repay their creditors a larger amount by selling assets, possibly covering the total debt.
Under the settlement, Fore Group's owners have sold, or are in talks for the sale of, private assets, including luxury homes in Tel Aviv's Zahala and Ramat Aviv neighborhoods, Arsuf, and Moshav Carmi Yosef, in order to repay debts to Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI), Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI), Mizrahi Tefahot Bank (TASE:MZTF), Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT), Bank Otsar Hahayal, Mustang Mezzanine Fund, and other creditors.
Trustee Adv. Avihai Vardi says that the business of Fore Group company TowerVision India Ltd. Sources inform ''Globes'' that he is referring to the company's advanced talks with Indian banks to obtain more than $200 million in credit, and that the company's subscriber base has grown since the crisis in India's telecommunications market in 2013.
According to the latest available information, Fore Group has four business: wireless communications through TowerVision India, mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) Cellnet Solutions Ltd., and Foris Telecom Ltd.; telecommunications products and services through Formula Telecom Solutions Ltd., CTware Ltd., ITS Integrated Telecommunication Systems Ltd, and Frontline Ltd.; real estate in Romania through Hectare Ltd.; and financial investments in companies, including Ginko Oil Exploration Ltd.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 27, 2014