Israeli telco Bezeq is once again reviewing options to raise its stake in local DTH firm YES, after the country’s anti-trust authority sent it the conditions it would have to meet.
The company said it is “interested, in principle, in preparing for…
Israeli telco Bezeq is once again reviewing options to raise its stake in local DTH firm YES, after the country’s anti-trust authority sent it the conditions it would have to meet.
The company said it is “interested, in principle, in preparing for the process of examining the possibilities for increasing its shareholdings of Yes” to beyond 49.8%.
The conditions were not disclosed, although reports suggest they could include restrictions on triple play discounts and a temporary ban on buying exclusive content from abroad.
Bezeq last came close to increasing its share with a plan to raise its stake to 58% back in 2009, but this was later blocked on competition grounds.
Those plans were ultimately dashed when Israel’s Supreme Court upheld a petition from the anti-trust authority and Yes shareholder Eurocom, which now owns 50.2% of the DTH operator, to stop the merger due to fears over competition.
Eurocom, a large privately owned holding company that also has stakes in Israeli satellite operator Spacecom and service provider Gilat, argued it would give Bezeq too much control over Israel’s communications infrastructure.
In 2010 an indirect subsidiary of Eurocom, controlled by Israeli tycoon Shaul Elovitch, took control of Bezeq.
