Sources inform “Globes” that Aver Zussman, who owns 2.5% of Tevel (International Television Holdings), is trying to form a consortium to compete against Partner Communications (Nasdaq: PTNR; TASE: PTNR; LSE: PCCD) for the bank-owned shares in Tevel.
Zussman has been negotiating for several months with Tevel trustee Zvi Yochman CPA. Only after hearing that Partner was about to acquire control of Tevel, however, did he take steps to expedite the formation of an investors’ consortium.
Zussman is currently meeting with potential investors in the US, most or all of whom are apparently Americans, and some of whom have already met Yochman.
Zussman must make a higher bid than Partner in order to prevent it from taking over the cable company. Zussman told sources close to Tevel that he “had a surprise in store” regarding the acquisition of the company.
Zussman is one of the most long-standing investors in Tevel. He formerly owned 5% of the company, but his holdings were diluted by the agreement signed with the company’s secured and unsecured creditors a few months ago.
Zussman is the only Tevel shareholder who is not one of the company’s creditor banks. Sources close to Tevel said that he had taken the company’s decline personally, which might explain why he had decided to attempt a takeover of the company, instead of giving up.
Meanwhile, Partner is continuing its efforts to agree with the banks on a price for Matav-Cable Systems Media’s (Nasdaq: MATV; TASE: MATV) acquisition of their Tevel shares, in order to complete the Matav-Partner deal. The agreement for Partner’s acquisition of 40% of Matav for $137 million will become effective only if Matav merges with Tevel. Zussman’s actions therefore jeopardize the entire Partner-Matav deal.
Zussman will have to offer a higher per subscriber price than Partner. That will be no simple task, given that the per subscriber price being negotiated is the highest in many years. Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on March 17, 2004