FortissFortissimo Capital in talks to buy controlling share of Cellcom

Private equity fund Fortissimo Capital is negotiating to buy a controlling share of Israeli telecom group Cellcom (CEL.TA) from Discount Investment Corp, according to a regulatory filing in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.

Discount said that it has entered a non-binding agreement to sell Fortissimo its 35.6% stake in Cellcom for 925 million shekels ($249 million), valuing the company at 2.6 billion shekels. Its stake is currently worth 793 million shekels.

Fortissimo has two weeks to carry out due diligence and a final deal would be subject to regulatory approvals, Discount said.

Discount operates as an investment holding company, with interest in real estate, telecommunication, technology, and agriculture.

Israel-based Fortissimo invests primarily in technology and industrial companies and has a portfolio of more than 60 firms. Reuters