Hot Mobile accepts NIS 1.88b Delek Israel bid

Delek Israel looks set to buy Hot Mobile from Altice Group for NIS 1.88 billion after receiving an exclusive period of 60 days to complete due diligence and sign a binding agreement.

Rival company Pelephone (a subsidiary of Bezeq) filed an improved offer yesterday evening of NIS 2.3 billion, subject to certain terms and receipt of exclusivity, after having already signed a memorandum of understanding two months ago to acquire Hot Mobile for NIS 2.1 billion.

However, Altice probably believes that Pelephone would struggle to obtain regulatory approvals to complete the deal and preferred to close a deal with Delek Israel, which like Pelephone had also imposed a deadline to sign an agreement.

Delek Israel is 39.6% owned by Lahav LR Real Estate (TASE: LAHAV). The other shareholders are Uri Mantzur and Delek Group (through Delek Petroleum). Delek Israel initially bid NIS 1.8 billion for Hot Mobile before raising it to NIS 1.88 billion.

Other bidders for Hot Mobile are a group led by former Bezeq chairperson Gil Sharon that includes several financial institutions, and rival mobile telephony companies Cellcom and Partner, which have submitted offers for Hot Mobile’s business customers only.

Synergetic opportunities

Delek Israel operates a chain of gas stations and convenience stores, from which Delek Israel Properties DP (TASE: DLPR) was spun off and floated on the TASE last summer. Delek Israel seeks to expand and build additional strategic consumer activity, and it has previously been reported that it competed for the acquisition of control of Shufersal and bid in the tender for the Postal Authority but did not win either.

Delek Israel sees synergistic opportunities in Hot Mobile in particular and in the communications industry in general, and for example, it will be able to sell end-user equipment such as cellular devices in its chain of 220 convenience stores, and will also be able to leverage its loyalty club activity.

Hot Mobile is part of Hot Communications, which is controlled by Patrick Drahi’s Altice Group, which is highly leveraged. According to recently published partial financial data, in the second quarter of 2025, Hot’s revenue from cellular services fell 8.6% compared with the corresponding quarter, due to a decline in connectivity revenue. Revenue from equipment sales fell 11.5%. Hot’s EBITDA fell 7.5% and amounted to €78 million. CAPEX (capital expenditures) amounted to €64 million.