Hutchison Telecom to sell its stake in Israel's Partner Telecom

Aug. 13, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd<2332><HTX>, the telecom unit of Hong Kong conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa<0013>, Wednesday said in a statement that its subsidiary, Advent Investments Pte Ltd, will sell its entire 51.3% stake in Partner Communications Co Ltd to Scailex Corp for approximately US$1.38 billion.

The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009 after it obtains approval from Israeli regulators and from Hutchison Telecom's shareholders. The company expects to gain approximately US$1,000 million before tax.

Partner Communications, a leading mobile communications operator in Israel, is a subsidiary of HTIL, which was the first provider of 3G mobile services in Hong Kong and Israel and operates brands including "Hutch", "3" and "orange".  

HTIL said the company will continue its strategy of competing in emerging markets and will focus on developing its existing operations in Indonesia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.