Offer to buy parent firm of Bezeq brought to court

Eurocom Group, the parent company of Bezeq Israeli Telecom, has petitioned a Tel Aviv court to allow a debt settlement that would bring it a new controlling shareholder, a Eurocom subsidiary said on Monday.

Eurocom chairman Shaul Elovitch, who is being investigated by Israeli authorities for possible fraud and financial reporting offenses, is under pressure to sell Eurocom, which is laden with nearly NIS 1 billion ($294 million) in debt. Elovitch has denied any wrongdoing.

Under the proposal, a group led by US-Israeli businessman Naty Saidoff would bring a “significant and rapid capital flow” to Eurocom to settle some of its debts, another Eurocom subsidiary, Enlight Energy, said in a statement.

In return, Saidoff’s group will get conversion rights that at a later stage will give them control of up to 90% of Eurocom shares. The statement did not disclose financial details.

If the court gives a green light and the debt holders agree, control of Eurocom would only be transferred after getting regulatory approval.

Israeli financial news websites have reported the proposal includes Saidoff injecting NIS 400m. into Eurocom and banks agreeing to forgive NIS 400m. of debt.

Eurocom officials were not available for comment.

Eurocom’s holdings include a controlling 26% stake in Bezeq, Israel’s largest telecoms group, and satellite operator Spacecom.

Saidoff is a real-estate mogul who founded California-based Capital Foresight. (Reuters)