The sale of Ron Lauder's stake to Yafit Greenberg is supposed to enable Channel 10 to obtain a new license by having a majority of Israeli shareholders.
Arnon Milchan could scupper the sale of Ron Lauder's Channel 10 stake to Yafit Greenberg, sources inform "Globes." Those sources say that any share deal requires approval of all the TV company's shareholders according to the original agreement between the owners. Milchan has yet to receive a copy of the draft agreement between Lauder and Greenberg and he may choose not to agree with the deal.
The sale to Greenberg is supposed to solve the problem preventing Channel 10 from obtaining a new license. In this way Channel 10 chairman Yosef Maiman will not need Milchan in order to have the required Israeli majority among the shareholders to obtain a license.
However, Milchan claims that when he came into Channel 10 as a partner, Lauder pledged that if he chose to leave and not make a profit, he would have his investment returned. Milchan has invested $50 million in Channel 10 to date. It is believed that Milchan is demanding the $7 million he paid Rupert Murdoch when he left Channel 10. Sources close to Milchan insist that the demand will not be dropped regardless of whether Lauder leaves Channel 10 or not.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on November 19, 2013
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