Cable television merger okay'd
Antitrust Commissioner Dror Strum announced Monday approval for the merger of the three cable TV firms, Tevel, Matav Cable Systems (Nasdaq:MATV), and Golden Channels.
The approval came the day Tevel petitioned the court to appoint a trustee and special manager for the company, and for an four-month stay of proceedings to protect it against creditors.
It is believed that Tevel's financial problems and NIS 3 billion debt could delay the actual merger.
The terms of the approval: separation between the merged entity's infrastructure and communications firms, and its broadcasting firm, providing open access to entities providing broadcasting services to subscribers, and providing independent status to producers of television channels. In addition, withing four years the cable entity will have to sell its holdings in the broadcasting firm in order to separate between their boards. The cable entity has to enter into competition in domestic telephony with state-owned phone company Bezeq within two years, and it isn't allowed to own other broadcasting channels or content.
