Partner Communications Company Ltd. ("Partner") (Nasdaq and TASE: PTNR; LSE: PCCD), a
leading Israeli mobile communications operator, announced that it
was served on Thursday, September 20, 2007, with a lawsuit requesting
certification as a class action, filed against Partner and against two
other cellular operators in Israel (the "Defendants"), in the District
Court of Jerusalem, by plaintiffs claiming to be subscribers of the
Defendants. The claim alleges that the Defendants charged consumers
unlawfully, for SMS messages sent to handsets which cannot receive such
messages. Furthermore, the claim alleges that the Defendants misled
consumers who sent such messages, as those consumers received an alert
notifying that those messages were sent.
If the lawsuit is certified as a class action, the total amount claimed
from the Defendants is estimated by the plaintiffs to be approximately
NIS 182 million (for all Defendants together).
Partner will contest this lawsuit vigorously. At this preliminary stage,
Partner is considering the merits of the claim and is unable to assess
the extent of the validity of the claim against it.
About Partner Communications
Partner Communications Company Ltd. ("Partner") is a leading Israeli
mobile communications operator providing GSM / GPRS / UMTS / HSDPA
services and wire free applications under the orange™
brand. The Company provides quality service and a range of features to
2.733 million subscribers in Israel (as of June 30, 2007). Partner’s
ADSs are quoted on the
Nasdaq Global Select Market™
(NASDAQ: PTNR) and the London Stock Exchange (LSE: PCCD). Its shares are
also traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE: PTNR).
Partner is a subsidiary of Hutchison Telecommunications International
Limited ("Hutchison Telecom"), a leading global provider of
telecommunications services. Hutchison Telecom currently offers mobile
and fixed line telecommunications services in Hong Kong, and operates
mobile telecommunications services in Israel, Macau, Thailand, Sri
Lanka, Ghana, Vietnam and Indonesia. It was the first provider of 3G
mobile services in Hong Kong and Israel and operates brands including "Hutch”,
"3” and "orange”.
Hutchison Telecom, a subsidiary of Hutchison Whampoa Limited, is a
listed company with American Depositary Shares quoted on the New York
Stock Exchange under the ticker "HTX" and shares listed on the Stock
Exchange of Hong Kong under the stock code "2332". For more information
about Hutchison Telecom, see www.htil.com.
For more information about Partner, see http://www.orange.co.il/investor_site/
