C & W In Talks On Bezeq Stake

C&W already holds 10 per cent of Bezeq after it bought two tranches on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange last year. It is interested in increasing its stake to 21 per cent but the government insisted it was seeking a strategic partner for Bezeq if and when it sells off a further 25 per cent of the company next year.

Yitzhak Kaul of Bezeq, recently said he no longer saw the need for a strategic partner, signalling a rift between the government and Bezeq's management. Talks took place between Richard Brown, chief executive of C&W, and Limor Livnat, the Israeli communications minister on Thursday.

 

Fruitful discussions took place in a co-operative manner and will continue,'' C&W said. However, it said that while C&W would like to invest more in Israel, it would only do so if the government was happy for us to do so''.

The negotiations with C&W coincide with the publication of Bezeq's nine- month results. Net real income rose 3.2 per cent from the same period last year.

To Shk454 million ($139.7 million), on a 3.8 per cent rise in revenues to Shk5.98 billion.