Haim Saban, who was formerly the controlling shareholder in Partner Communications (TASE: PTNR; Nasdaq: PTNR), opposes the deal for the sale of Hutchison's shares in the company to the consortium led by Avi Gabbay and Shlomo Rodav. Saban believes that the trustee for the shares, Adv. Ehud Sol, is under an obligation to hold an auction to maximize the price.
Earlier this week, Sol filed a request in the court for approval of the sale of the shares for $300 million, which is the amount of the debt that Saban was due to repay to Hutchison, which caused him to relinquish the shares.
When Saban bought his shares in Partner from Hutchison, he received a seller's loan from the latter. The loan was due to be repaid in one payment of $300 million, failing which Saban had to return the shares to Hutchison.
Two years ago, Saban did in fact cede control of Partner and return the shares to Hutchison in accordance with their agreement. Saban now argues that the value of the shares he transferred to Hutchison in lieu of the loan repayment is higher than $300 million.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on December 2, 2021.
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd., 2021.