Swarth Group is a

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a ty ...

company, owned by

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i investor

Shaul Shani Shaul Shani ( he, שאול שני; born c. 1955) is an Israeli businessman in the technology industry, and the owner of Swarth Group. Early life Shaul Shani was born circa 1955. He grew up in Kiryat Eliezer, Haifa. His father worked at the Port ...

. In 2007, it purchased Israeli

ECI Telecom ECI Telecom Ltd is an Israel-based manufacturer of telecommunications equipment that provides packet optical transport products, software-defined networking applications, cybersecurity and professional services. History The Electronics Corpora ...

for $1.24 billion. The company headquarters are in

Petah Tikva Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...

, Israel. The company specialises in

Telecoms Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

. In 2008, it acquired a 16.44% share of GVT Holding, which owns GVT

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, and itself owns 22.9% of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

ian telecom firm

Global Village Telecom Global Village Telecom (GVT) was a Brazilian telecommunications company that offers services on landline telephone, broadband for both consumer and business, Pay TV and voice over IP. GVT has been in the market since the end of 2000. GVT today op ...

. The stake was purchased from

Nochi Dankner Nochi Dankner ( he, נוחי דנקנר; born 13 November 1954) is an Israeli businessman and a board member of the Jewish Agency for Israel. He was the controlling shareholder of the IDB Group. Dankner is also the founder and chairman of the G ...

's Discount Investment Corporation Ltd. In 2009 Swarth group sold its holding in GVT to

Vivendi Vivendi SE is a French mass media holding company headquartered in Paris. Widely known as the owner of Gameloft, Groupe Canal+, Havas, Editis, Prisma Media, Vivendi Village and Dailymotion, the company has activities in television, film, video ...

the deal reflects a 15.8% premium on the price paid for it by Swarth in 2008.

References

{{reflist Private equity firms of the Middle East Telecommunications companies of Israel