Investment house Altshuler Shaham has filed an urgent request to be a party to petition to prevent the sale of control in Bezeq Israeli Telecommunication Co. Ltd. (TASE: BEZQ) to the Neuman Group - brothers Tzahi and Chen Neuman.
Altshuler Shaham holds 11% of Internet Gold Golden Lines Ltd. (Nasdaq: IGLD; TASE:IGLD), which controls Bezeq through B Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq:BCOM; TASE: BCOM). The firm objects to the deal for the sale of control of Bezeq to the Neuman Group on the grounds that Internet Gold's financial position has stabilized after it raised new capital. It believes that an orderly auction should be held for the sale of control, and describes the way the deal was put together as questionable.
Altshuler Shaham submitted its stance after participating in Internet Gold's recent equity offering. "The sale of such an asset effectively alters the nature of Internet Gold's business," it says. Although Internet Gold stated before the share offering that there were negotiations on a deal, Altshuler Shaham's lawyers, Adv. Adi Superski and Adv. Ronen Baharav, say that "this was a vague statement; there was no disclosure of the terms of the deal."
Altshuler Shaham submitted its stance in the framework of the request for an injunction by the special managers of Eurocom (which controls Internet Gold) against the deal for selling the shares of B Communications to the Neuman brothers at a valuation of NIS 1 billion. The Neuman brothers also submitted their position to the court. "This is a good, worthwhile deal, the terms of which are excellent for Internet Gold and the public, and that is of benefit to all concerned. The petition for an injunction has no legal or factual basis," the law firm of Goldfarb Seligman & Co., which represents the Neuman brothers, writes.
While the legal battle continues, attempts are being made to reach a compromise between Internet Gold, headed by CEO Doron Turgeman, and the special managers of Eurocom, Adv. Pinhas Rubin, Adv. Amnon Lorch, and Adv. Ori Gaon (who represent Eurocom's creditor banks), on their various differences of opinion. The first is the over the sale of control of Bezeq to the Neuman brothers. The second is over the demand by the special managers to introduce five new directors on their behalf to the Internet Gold board of directors and thereby take control of it. The sides are attempting to put together a compromise involving on the one hand a reduction in the number of directors and on the other a formal auction for the sale of control of Bezeq.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 21, 2018
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