ATLANTA-BellSouth Corp. signed an agreement to sell its 34.75-percent equity ownership in Israeli wireless carrier Cellcom to Discount Investment Corp. for $625 million. Discount Investment currently holds a 25-percent interest in Cellcom.
BellSouth said it expects to record a gain on the transaction based on the book value at closing. Based on current book value, the after-tax gain would be about $235 million or 13 cents per share.
The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
BellSouth has been selling its minority stakes in global wireless carriers to focus on its core business. Last year it sold its extensive Latin American wireless portfolio to Telefonica Moviles.
