Cellcom announced an agreement with Golan Telecom and its shareholders for the purchase of 100 percent of Golan for ILS 1.17 billion. Golan launched mobile services in Israel in 2012, focusing on low-cost, 'all-in' tariff plans. It counts around 900,000 customers as of November, with a comparatively low churn, Cellcom said. Golan is expected to end 2015 with revenues exceeding ILS 500 million.
The purchase price represents an enterprise value of ILS 1 billion for Golan, equal to around 5x adjusted EBITDA for this year. Up to ILS 400 million of the purchase price will be paid as a mandatorily convertible 5-year note issued to the sellers by the company. The note will be repaid with the issue of ordinary Cellcom shares. The takeover remains subject to regulatory approval.
Cellcom already has a network-sharing and roaming agreement with Golan, which will continue until the deal closes. From January, the cost of roaming will increase to ILS 21 million per month. Cellcom said it will continue to operate Golan as an independent company and low-cost brand. Other interested bidders for Golan Telecom included rival operator Pelephone.
