Altice’s Hot submits bid for Partner

Altice Europe has confirmed speculation that its Israeli subsidiary Hot Telecommunications has put in a bid for 100% of troubled telco Partner Communications.

In a statement published on January 29, Altice said: “Altice Europe confirms that its fully owned subsidiary Hot has submitted an offer for 100% of the share capital of Partner Communications. No final decision has been taken, and it is yet uncertain that any such transaction will be concluded and under which terms. If and when there is any reason to do so, further announcements to the market will be made.”

While it has a market cap of US$806.7 million, Partner’s share prices have been in a state of steady decline. As pointed out earlier this month by Simply Wall St., “Partner Communications shareholders are down 11% for the year, but the market itself is up 27%.”

The Israeli telco market has become increasingly congested in recent years with a battle to the bottom having been felt by all parties. A deal between Hot and Partner would be the market’s first major merger.

It was previously reported that Hot had held talks with Cellcom over a merger, with Cellcom in a similar state of disarray. However, a deal with Partner is a more natural fit as both operate on the same network.

Any deal would be subject to regulatory approval, but it is believed that this would prove no hurdle.