Antitrust Authority director general David Gilo calls the sale of "Makor Rishon" to Sheldon Adelson's "Israel Today" complicated and problematic. During a meeting he called with "Israel Today" representatives and "Makor Rishon" trustee Chen Berdachev, "Israel Today" sought to expedite the NIS 14 million acquisition.
Gilo said that the deal was complicated and should not be taken for granted. He added that a review was necessary, which could take several weeks. "Israel Today's" representatives said that "Makor Rishon" was in bad shape and that the deal needed to be approved before Passover to save the newspaper and its employees' jobs.
In a letter, "Makor Rishon" asked Gilo to approve the deal. The recruitment of advertisers means that the paper's upcoming edition before Passover will be one of its thickest ever.
At the meeting, Gilo made no hint whether he will approve the deal, and asked for more documents, on top of the ones submitted yesterday. If he rejects the deal, the second-placed bidder for "Makor Rishon" is "The Jerusalem Post" publisher Eli Azur, who bought "Ma'ariv", "Makor Rishon's" sister paper under former publisher Shlomo Ben-Tzvi. A group headed by "Makor Rishon" CEO Udi Ragonis is also interested in the paper.
Gilo's office declined to comment.
"Israel Today" said, "This was a meeting summoned at the request of the parties to the merger to shorten the approval timetable by the Antitrust Authority. The meeting was held in a good atmosphere and the parties provided the Antitrust Authority's representatives information and explanations to enable the rapid approval of the merger."
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on April 10, 2014
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2014