The upcoming IPO of Cellcom Israel Ltd. on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), will apparently be solely through an offer for sale by shareholders, and without an issue of new stock. Cellcom notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) today that its board decided last week to this effect. Cellcom is controlled by IDB Holding Corp. Ltd. (TASE:IDBH) subsidiary Discount Investment Corporation (TASE: DISI).
The decision means that Cellcom will not see proceeds from its IPO, and that the company’s shareholders will maximize their revenue from the IPO, while substantially diluting their holdings in the company.
Until now, it was thought that Cellcom’s IPO will include both an issue of new shares and an offer for sale. The IPO could become the largest IPO by an Israeli company on a foreign stock market in 2007. The company plans to raise $300-400 million on the NYSE at a company value of $2 billion.
The joint book runners for the Cellcom IPO are Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB; LSE: DBK; XETRA, SWX, ATX: DBKG), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS), and Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), with Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MER) acting as joint manager. Secondary underwriters for the float are Jefferies & Company Inc. (a partner of Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI), and William Blair & Company (represented in Israel by Poalim Capital Markets - Investment Bank Ltd..
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on January 14, 2007
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