The request by Haim Saban's Saban Capital Group to delay the deal for the transfer of control in Partner Communications (TASE: PTNR; Nasdaq: PTNR) to the consortium led by Avi Gabbay and Shlomo Rodav has been rejected. Tel Aviv District Court judge Hannah Fliner dismissed the petition after Saban Capital Group refused to post even a reduced guarantee in exchange for an auction of the shares. The upshot is that the way is clear for the Rodav-Gabbay consortium, and the deal is progressing towards completion and the grant of final approvals.
A hearing of the Saban Capital Group petition was held yesterday, in which the judge tried to put forward a practical solution rather than become involved in legal questions. The proposal was that an auction should take place of the Partner shares held by the receiver on behalf of Hong Kong-based Hutchison, and in return Saban Capital Group should post a guarantee, as the deal reached by the Rodav-Gabbay consortium would be put at risk if an auction were held, and there was no certainty that it would participate in it.
The Saban Capital Group refused, and the receiver, Adv. Ehud Sol stated that he had a bank guarantee from the Rodav-Gabbay consortium for the full amount of the deal, $300 million, and that the chances that the deal would be approved by the Ministry of Communications were every high.
In the deal, the Rodav-Gabbay consortium is buying 27.1% of Partner, a stake that was held by Saban Capital Group but which it returned to its original owner, Hutchison, after failing to repay a seller's loan of $300 million. Saban claimed that the shares were worth more than $300 million, and that an auction should be held by the receiver to maximize their value.
Avi Gabbay and Shlomo Rodav are backed by a group of financial institutions headed by The Phoenix, and that includes a company owned by Mori Arkin, Menorah Mivtachim, and Clal.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 14, 2021.
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