Partner Communications Company Ltd. ("Partner" or "the Company")
(Nasdaq:PTNR)(TASE:PTNR), a leading Israeli communications operator, announces
today a change in the organizational structure of the group, in
which infrastructure and headquarter parallel activities of Partner and
its fully owned subsidiary, 012 Smile Telecom Ltd. ("012 Smile")
will be merged and integrated and Mr. Menahem Tirosh will be appointed
as Chief Operating Officer ("COO") of the group.
As part of the integration strategy between Partner and 012 Smile, along
with maintaining separate cores of business - Partner in the cellular
area and 012 Smile in the fixed-line communications area (fixed-line
telephony, internet, transmission and international long distance
services), the headquarter services of the group, including human
resources, finance, legal, procurement and logistics, will be integrated
and will be provided jointly under an integrated management. This
process is a direct continuation of the integration of the engineering
operations of the two companies under Partner and the transfer of
Partner's fixed-line communications branch to 012 Smile.
This process is designated to maximize the operational and
organizational synergies and to integrate parallel activities and will
enable focusing on the managerial inputs required in order to cope with
the market challenges in the short as well as the long term. The Company
estimates that this process is expected to be concluded during the first
quarter of 2012.
Mr. Menahem Tirosh, who will be appointed as COO of the group, will be
responsible for the integration of the Technologies, IT and Operations
Divisions, along with the long term strategic preparation in these areas.
The appointment of Mr. Menahem Tirosh as COO will enable focusing on the
managerial inputs required for the integration of cross organizational
processes and balancing between short as well as long term challenges in
the network, technology and operational areas. These challenges include,
among others, the preparation for the fourth generation network, the
upgrade of the Company's IT systems and preparation for their upgrade
and the maximization of the technological and operational advantages of
Partner and 012 Smile, as part of a comprehensive communications group.
Mr. Menahem Tirosh, who has rich experience in the telecommunications
field, was one of the founders of Partner and served as the Company's
Vice President Technologies since it was founded and until the year
2004. Prior to his appointment Mr. Menahem Tirosh served as the CEO of
Schema, which develops optimization solutions for cellular networks, and
also filled various managerial positions including CEO of the Start-Up
company Outsmart and CEO of TTI-Telecom.
Mr. Menahem Tirosh holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering
(B.Sc) from the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology and a Master
degree in Advanced Communications Engineering (M.Sc) from the Ben-Gurion
University of the Negev.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the US Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
Section 21E of the US Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and
the safe harbor provisions of the US Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "believe", "anticipate", "expect",
"intend", "seek", "will", "plan", "could", "may", "project", "goal",
"target" and similar expressions often identify forward-looking
statements but are not the only way we identify these statements. All
statements other than statements of historical fact included in this
press release regarding our future performance, plans to increase
revenues or margins or preserve or expand market share in existing or
new markets, reduce expenses and any statements regarding other future
events or our future prospects, are forward-looking statements.
We have based these forward-looking statements on our current knowledge
and our present beliefs and expectations regarding possible future
events. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks,
uncertainties and assumptions about Partner, consumer habits and
preferences in cellular telephone usage, trends in the Israeli
telecommunications industry in general, the impact of current global
economic conditions and possible regulatory and legal developments. For
a description of some of the risks we face, see "Item 3D. Key
Information - Risk Factors", "Item 4. - Information on the Company",
"Item 5. - Operating and Financial Review and Prospects", "Item 8A. -
Consolidated Financial Statements and Other Financial Information -
Legal and Administrative Proceedings" and "Item 11. - Quantitative and
Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk" in the Company's 2010
Annual Report (20-F) filed with the SEC on March 21, 2011. In light of
these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events
discussed in this press release might not occur, and actual results may
differ materially from the results anticipated. We undertake no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
About Partner Communications
Partner Communications Company Ltd. ("Partner") is a leading Israeli
provider of telecommunications services (cellular, fixed-line telephony
and internet services) under the orange™ brand. The Company provides
mobile communications services to over 3 million subscribers in Israel.
Partner’s ADSs are quoted on the NASDAQ Global Select Market™ and its
shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NASDAQ and TASE: PTNR).
Partner is an approximately 45%-owned subsidiary of Scailex Corporation
Ltd. ("Scailex"). Scailex's shares are traded on the Tel Aviv Stock
Exchange under the symbol SCIX and are quoted on "Pink Quote" under the
symbol SCIXF.PK. Scailex currently operates in two major domains of
activity in addition to its holding in Partner: (1) the sole import,
distribution and maintenance of Samsung mobile handset and accessories
products primarily to the major cellular operators in Israel (2)
management of its financial assets.
For more information about Scailex, see http://www.scailex.com.
For more information about Partner, see http://www.orange.co.il/investor_site
About 012 Smile Telecom Ltd.
012 Smile is a wholly owned subsidiary of Partner Communications which
provides international long distance services, internet services and
local telecommunication fixed-line services (including telephony
services using VOB) under the 012 Smile brand. The completion of the
purchase of 012 Smile by Partner Communications took place on March 3,
2011. For further details see the press release dated March 3, 2011.
