[Satellite Today 08-14-08] A potential contract dispute has developed between Gilat Satellite and a consortium of private equity firms looking to acquire the company.
    A consortium of private equity investors agreed in March to acquire Gilat for about $475 million. Gilat has notified the consortium that it has fulfilled all conditions needed to close the transaction, the satellite company said Aug. 14.
    But the consortium, which consists of Gores Group LLC; Mivtach Shamir Holdings Ltd.; companies affiliated with Roy Ben-Yami, Ami Lustig and Eytan Stibbe; and DGB Investments Inc., are questioning whether all of the conditions have been met, Gilat said.
    The consortium has not provided a formal response to Gilat, but the parties are in discussions to complete the transaction in September, which the parties agreed to in the merger agreement.
    Gilat would not comment on the details nor confirm that the issue is even a disagreement, Andrea Costa, a spokeswoman for Gilat, told Satellite Today. “We are just waiting to hear back from the investors,” she said. “When we have an update, we will notify our investors.”
    Under the terms of the agreement, Gilat shareholders will receive $11.40 per share in cash, a premium of about 38 percent over Gilat’s average closing share price during the 30 trading days ended April 25, 2007, the day Mivtach Shamir issued a formal offer to Gilat’s board to purchase 100 percent of the company’s shares.