Pelephone Signs NIS 265 Million Agreement to Acquire Wecom

Pelephone signed an agreement on November 9 to acquire Israeli mobile operator Wecom for approximately NIS 265 million. The Bezeq subsidiary reached the binding agreement after completing due diligence and months of negotiations. Completion requires approval from the Communications Ministry and the Competition Commissioner. Pelephone chief executive Ilan Sigal said: "We are now working to obtain the regulatory approvals required from the Communications Ministry and the Competition Commissioner." The company described the agreement as part of its growth strategy, expanding its customer base and supporting investment in its network, service and innovation. Pelephone has approximately 2.7 million subscribers, including about 1.6 million using its 5G services. Adding Wecom's customers would bring the combined subscriber base to roughly 3 million and increase Pelephone's market share from 23.5% to approximately 26%. Wecom has more than 300,000 subscribers and around 3% of the market. Pelephone estimates that integration would contribute approximately NIS 50 million to Bezeq Group's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization in the short term and NIS 100 million over the longer term.