The Israeli Security Agency (ISA, formerly known as the General Security Services, or GSS) will not permit an Israeli investor’s stake in consortia bidding in the Bezeq (TASE: BZEQ) privatization tender to fall below 19%, as many of the prospective bidders have asked. Sources inform “Globes” that Minister of Communications Dalia Itzik, Government Companies Authority director Eyal Gabbai, and the head of the ISA are discussing ways of solving the problem.
Itzik and Gabbai are apparently seeking a solution that will avoid the need for any Israeli investor in competing consortia. Such an arrangement is possible, provided that the state’s security interest, as defined by the ISA, is preserved. If such a solution is found, bidders in the tender will not have to recruit an Israeli investors, while essential security interests will be preserved.
One possibility is giving the state a golden share in Bezeq that will make it possible for the state to oversee the company’s policy. In a meeting in Itzik’s office yesterday, it was stated that Israeli investors were reluctant to join the competing consortia, fearing that security reasons will later make it difficult to sell the shares in Bezeq.
The rules for the Bezeq privatization tender state that an Israeli investor must own at least 19% of any group bidding in the tender.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on January 20, 2005