Competition Authority approves sale of Hot Mobile at a valuation of 1.8 billion shekels

The Competition Authority has approved the sale of Hot Mobile. Calcalist has learned that the Authority transferred the approval to the involved companies a short while ago. The deal now awaits approval from the Ministry of Communications, which has not yet finished its review of the merger. The approval was granted relatively quickly, less than a week after the deal was signed on June 30.

As part of the deal, Hot Mobile was purchased from Patrick Drahi's Hot Group by Delek Israel and the Keystone fund, which will each hold 40%, and Leumi Partners, which will hold 20%. The consideration in the deal stands at 1.2 billion shekels, reflecting an enterprise value of 1.8 billion shekels for Hot Mobile. Bank Leumi provided financing of 700 million shekels, the partners invested 500 million shekels in equity, and the company carries a debt of 600 million shekels. Hot Mobile's revenues are estimated at 1.5 billion shekels, and it serves about 2 million subscribers. Following the deal, Pelephone, which also competed for the acquisition of Hot Mobile, purchased Wecom for 265 million shekels.